TECH Signal 490
Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor and two staff for insubordination after censorship remarks
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The US Department of Defense dismissed Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, a reporter, and the publisher, citing insubordination tied to a CBS interview where Slavin said censorship would be a red line.
Stars and Stripes has maintained editorial independence through a congressional mandate despite partial Pentagon funding, serving 1.4 million daily readers including deployed troops. The dismissals coincide with broader Pentagon restrictions on press access and a pause in press conferences since May.
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Erik Slavin, reporter Lara Korte, and publisher Max Lederer were fired for insubordination related to a CBS Sunday Morning interview where Slavin said censorship would be a red line.
Stars and Stripes operates under a congressional mandate for editorial independence despite being partially funded by the Pentagon.
The firings follow an October DoD policy that would have restricted journalists to only reporting officially authorized information, which major outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and BBC rejected.
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