Press advocates condemn Pentagon move to seize editorial control of Stars and Stripes | Trump administration
Press freedom advocates have condemned the Pentagon’s move to seize editorial control of the independent newspaper Stars and Stripes, a military-oriented daily that has covered the US armed forces since the US Civil War.
The Trump administration announced Thursday that the channel will no longer include “distractions” and will instead “modernize its operations and adapt to serve the next generation of service members.”
“The War Department is returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters,” said Sean Parnell, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. wrote to xis using the government’s new unofficial nickname for the defense ministry.
“It will focus on combat, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survival, and EVERYTHING MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”
Parnell added that Pentagon officials will now be responsible for content that will be “specifically tailored to our warfighters.”
Government published the final rule That ruling, which appeared in federal records Thursday, overturned previous policy on Stars and Stripes’ business activities, which included a requirement for a civilian editor and an independent ombudsman, “a highly qualified journalist hired outside the Department of Defense.”
The action drew immediate condemnation from press freedom groups as the Pentagon’s latest attempt to stifle criticism and control what is written about it.
“American soldiers overseas deserve trustworthy news guaranteed by the First Amendment, a cornerstone of the constitution they defend. Instead, the Pentagon is trying to turn this independent newsroom into a mouthpiece for the administration’s political messages,” said Tim Richardson, director of PEN America’s journalism and disinformation program. in a statement.
“This action violates both the first amendment and the congressional mandate that the publication remain editorially independent. With President Trump proposing a significant increase in Department of Defense spending and new foreign military operations, the United States needs more independent reporting, not less.”
“Congress must continue to protect the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes and ensure that the administration allows military members to serve free from political influence.”
Erik Slavin, the paper’s editor-in-chief, was equally blunt in his message to staff. Posted in Stars and Stripes. “People who risk their lives to defend the Constitution have earned their First Amendment right to freedom of the press,” he wrote.
“We will not compromise on providing them with an accurate and balanced broadcast and holding military officials accountable when necessary,” he said.
In December, the Pentagon press corps, a long-standing alliance of journalists from traditional, independent media groups, resigned en masse over new policies set by U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth to restrict their activities. He was replaced by a hand-picked collection of “right-wing bloggers and Maga sycophants” who were deemed better suited to Hegseth’s demands.
Stars and Stripes was founded in 1861 by Union troops in Missouri to serve as a source of information for American soldiers in the final days of the Civil War. sourcing platform Ebsco. His articles and their widespread circulation of 1.2 million were credited with boosting the morale of U.S. troops during World War II by connecting them to life at home.
He was the first to publish the iconic photo of US sailors Raising the American flag on Iwo Jima [AninvestigationbyreporterTravisTrittenin1945whichearnedphotographerJoeRosenthalaPulitzerPrizeandin2015ledtothedownfallofveteranNBCChabersanchorBrianWilliamswhofalselyclaimedthathewasonanarmyhelicoptershotdownbytarokefireinIraq[1945’tefotoğrafçıJoeRosenthal’aPulitzerödülükazandıran;ve2015’temuhabiriTravisTrittentarafındanyapılanbirsoruşturmaIrak’taroketateşiyledüşürülenbirorduhelikopterindeolduğunuyalanyereiddiaedendeneyimliNBChaberspikeriBrianWilliams’ındüşmesineyolaçtı
Although officially part of the Pentagon’s media operations, Stars and Stripes has traditionally been protected by congressional authority and ministry of defense directive “There will be a free flow of news and information to its readers without news management or censorship,” it says.
Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive anti-press policy since returning to the White House a year ago. sue against media outlets that criticize him.
Earlier this week, the FBI raided the Virginia home of a Washington Post reporter; and on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt launched a statement. extraordinarily personal tirade At a press conference against a Hill reporter who asked about the killing of an unarmed U.S. citizen by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis last week.
The anti-media crackdown has coincided with a dramatic increase in violence against journalists in the United States. The Freedom of the Press Foundation reported last month that attacks in 2025 nearly matched the previous three years combined, and dozens of reporters were arrested or detained.
