The Pentagon announced sweeping changes to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes on Thursday, pledging to strip “woke distractions” and refocus content on “reporting for our warfighters.”
At a Glance
- Pentagon plans to make Stars and Stripes content written by active-duty service members
- Half of publication’s content will now be generated by the Defense Department
- Congress previously mandated civilian leadership for publisher and top editor roles
- Why it matters: The moves threaten the editorial independence that Congress guaranteed the news outlet in the 1990s
The announcement, delivered via social media by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s spokesman Sean Parnell, lacks specifics and makes no mention of the outlet’s historic independence from government control. The timing follows a Washington Post report that job applicants were being asked how they would support President Trump’s policies.
Historic Independence Under Threat
Stars and Stripes has chronicled military life since the Civil War, providing news to service members stationed overseas through World War II and beyond. Roughly 50% of its budget comes from Pentagon funding, with staff members counted as Defense Department employees.
Congress cemented the outlet’s editorial independence during the 1990s after military leaders interfered with editorial decisions. The publication’s mission statement declares it “editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command” and governed by First Amendment principles.
During Trump’s first term, Defense Secretary Mark Esper attempted to eliminate government funding for Stars and Stripes in 2020, effectively shutting it down, before President Trump reversed the decision.
New Content Requirements
Parnell’s social media post outlined dramatic changes: “Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters. 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 Pentagon confirmed plans to have all content produced by active-duty service members, despite Congress mandating that the publisher and top editor remain civilians. The department will generate half of the outlet’s content internally and will stop publishing material from The Associated Press and Reuters.
The Pentagon also announced elimination of 1990s-era directives governing Stars and Stripes operations through a Federal Register statement. Publisher Max Lederer expressed uncertainty about what these changes mean for operations and whether the Defense Department can implement them without congressional approval.
Leadership Kept in Dark
Lederer first learned of the Pentagon’s intentions through Parnell’s social media post, with no direct communication from department officials about their expectations for the publication.
“This will either destroy the value of the organization or significantly reduce its value,” Lederer warned. He believes the military community values Stars and Stripes precisely because of its news organization independence.
Jacqueline Smith, the outlet’s ombudsman created by Congress three decades ago, reports to the House Armed Services Committee. She emphasized that Stars and Stripes covers topics vital to service members and families beyond weapons systems and war strategy, noting she’s found nothing “woke” in its reporting.
“I think it’s very important that Stars and Stripes maintains its editorial independence, which is the basis of its credibility,” Smith stated.
Loyalty Test Controversy
The Washington Post revealed that Stars and Stripes job applicants faced questions about advancing Trump’s executive orders and policy priorities, requiring them to identify significant initiatives. This raised concerns about imposing loyalty tests on journalists.
Smith clarified that the government’s Office of Personnel Management, not the newspaper, added these questions to job applications, consistent with other government positions. However, she emphasized such questions shouldn’t apply to journalists.
“The loyalty is to the truth, not the administration,” Smith asserted.
Broader Media Crackdown
These changes represent the latest Trump administration restrictions on journalists. Most legacy news outlet reporters have left the Pentagon rather than accept new rules from Hegseth that they believe grant excessive control over their reporting. The New York Times has filed suit to overturn these regulations.
The administration has also targeted other government-funded outlets, attempting to shut down Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which provide independent global news coverage.
This week, federal agents raided a Washington Post journalist’s home during an investigation into a contractor accused of stealing government secrets, a move many journalists view as intimidation.
Legal Questions Remain
The Pentagon’s authority to eliminate decades-old directives without congressional approval remains unclear. The changes could fundamentally alter Stars and Stripes’ role as an independent news source for military personnel worldwide.
Defense Secretary Hegseth recently refused to answer whether he would comply with federal or Supreme Court orders regarding military use against protesters, stating: “We should not have judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country.”
The transformation of Stars and Stripes from independent military newspaper to Defense Department mouthpiece marks a significant shift in how America’s service members receive news about their own institution.
