Pentagon removes editor and publisher from military newspaper Stars and Stripes

The Pentagon fired three senior staff at Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper, on August 21. The editor-in-chief, Erik Slavin, says he was dismissed for insubordination. He had told CBS News that censorship would be a "red line" for him. Reporter Lara Korte was also fired after she told a CBS journalist that she works for Stars and Stripes, not for the Pentagon. The publisher, Max Lederer, had already announced his retirement before he was terminated early. The Pentagon recently placed a Navy captain in a leadership role at the paper without telling Lederer first. Stars and Stripes has reported independently since World War Two, though the Defense Department funds it. Three Democratic senators have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with questions about the appointment.