2026-08-24
Stars and Stripes, a newspaper serving American troops, had its editor-in-chief Erik Slavin fired by the Pentagon. The firing followed the earlier removal of the publisher and a reporter. Slavin has raised questions about whether the paper will remain editorially independent.
Left-leaning outlets focus on the personal account of the fired editor and frame the story as raising open questions about the paper's editorial independence and possible Pentagon censorship, citing Slavin's own reaction and PBS's characterization of his firing as retaliation for raising censorship concerns. The center outlet places the event within a broader political narrative, describing it as one instance of a wider Trump administration effort to curtail independent journalism, and links the firings directly to unfavorable reporting on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Presents the firing as a specific personnel action prompting concern from the ousted editor and media observers about the future independence of a historically autonomous military newspaper.
Days after his sudden firing by the Pentagon, Erik Slavin, the former editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, told CBS News that "time will tell" whether the military newspaper will remain editorially independent.
Stars and Stripes is a newspaper that has served American troops for generations. Recently, its publisher was fired, and its editor and one of its reporters were removed, raising questions about its future. Stars and Stripes is funded in part by the Pentagon, but is protected from military censorsh…
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