The Pentagon has fired the publisher, a top editor and a reporter at Stars and Stripes for insubordination.
Longtime publisher Max Lederer and editor-in-chief Erik Slavin were both given separation notices Friday, a Pentagon official confirmed to JS. Reporter Lara Korte said she also received a notice of her firing.
Slavin told CBS that he was fired for insubordination over an interview he gave the station last month.
“According to the notice, I am being fired for stating in a CBS interview that censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line,” Slavin said. “The Pentagon’s public affairs office has charged me with insubordination. I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies.”
While the publication is part of the Department of Defense, and its reporters are Pentagon employees, it has maintained editorial independence ― though that may soon change.
Lederer, who spent more than 30 years at Stars and Stripes, announced his retirement on Tuesday.
“It has become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization,” Lederer wrote in an email obtained by The Washington Post.
While his last day was meant to be Sept. 30, the Pentagon fired him Friday instead.
Replacing Lederer is William Urban, an active-duty Navy captain and public affairs officer who was appointed earlier this month as a deputy to Lederer. Lederer said he was not consulted on the decision.
In January, the Defense Department announced it would overhaul the publication to combat what it called “woke distractions.”
“We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X at the time.
“Stars & Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Parnell continued. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”
The high-profile firings come just over a week after Stars and Stripes reported on the mental health of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed since Nov. 21.
In a letter published Friday, Urban said he plans to overhaul the publication by focusing on digital formats and social media. He also has plans to “optimize” Stars and Stripes for the use of artificial intelligence.
“Two weeks ago, yesterday, I walked into this building for the first time,” Urban wrote in his letter. “Today, I am introducing myself to the stakeholders of our historic media brand, under pressure to steady the ship while accelerating our modernization, and while many voices question my competence and independence.”
“I make no promises that the ride ahead will not be bumpy,” he added. “Almost certainly it will be bumpy. But I urge you all to join me on this fantastic journey as we regain our edginess and plot a course to an even better future.”