Use whatever governmental leverage already exists rather than doing something as embarrassingly old-fashioned as ordering an editor to delete a paragraph.
That is why the Stars and Stripes firings matter beyond one peculiar military newspaper. Imagine being the next editor considering an investigation of a failing command, a miserable deployment or a Pentagon policy that has gone spectacularly wrong. You know who controls the organization. You know what happened to the ombudsman. You know what happened to the editor and reporter who publicly described independence as a red line. Nobody needs to telephone with instructions. The personnel system has already delivered the message.
That is suppression without anybody ever touching the copy.
Congress has been considering legislation that would put more of Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence into law instead of leaving it dependent upon promises made by Pentagon management. It should. The publisher should be a civilian journalist with meaningful protection from political removal. The ombudsman should be able to go directly to Congress. Reporters should be able to investigate the Pentagon without first wondering whether the Pentagon approves of the method.¹³
The old-fashioned censor said, “Do not print this.”
The modern version is much more civilized: “Print whatever you think is appropriate. Just remember who signs your performance review.”
Bibliography
1. U.S. Department of Defense. Stars and Stripes Media Organization , DoD Instruction 5122.11. August 21, 2026.
2. CBS News. Jennifer Jacobs and Kathryn Watson. “Pentagon moves to fire publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes.” August 21, 2026. Associated Press. “Pentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference.” August 22, 2026.
3. U.S. Government Accountability Office. Stars and Stripes: Inherent Conflict Between Military Mission and Journalistic Independence . NSIAD-89-60, 1988. U.S. Department of Defense, earlier Directive 5122.11 governing editorial independence at Stars and Stripes .
4. PBS NewsHour. “Pentagon orders shutdown of independent Stars and Stripes newspaper.” September 2020. Congressional correspondence and appropriations records concerning the proposed elimination of approximately $15.5 million in Pentagon support for the newspaper.
5. Federal Register. “Stars and Stripes Media Organization.” Final rule removing 32 C.F.R. Part 246, January 15, 2026. Associated Press reporting on the Pentagon’s January 2026 announcement that the newspaper would be refocused on warfighting and stripped of “woke distractions.”
6. Stars and Stripes . “Pentagon modernization plan changes Stars and Stripes operations.” March 13, 2026. Department of Defense interim memorandum concerning the newspaper’s modernization and editorial standards.
7. Stars and Stripes . Jacqueline Smith, “Pentagon is trying to silence Stars and Stripes’ independent watchdog.” April 23, 2026. Court filings in Smith’s subsequent retaliation lawsuit.
8. Associated Press and Stars and Stripes reporting on the appointment of Navy Capt. William Urban as deputy publisher and the retirement announcement of publisher Max Lederer, August 2026.
9. U.S. Department of Defense. Stars and Stripes Media Organization , DoD Instruction 5122.11, August 21, 2026. Provisions governing editorial independence, publisher and ombudsman selection, congressional communications, commercial news content and Freedom of Information Act requests.
10. White House. Executive Order, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” March 14, 2025. U.S. Agency for Global Media documents and subsequent Reuters and Associated Press reporting on administrative leave, staffing reductions and litigation involving Voice of America.
11. Reuters. “Disney, ABC sue US regulator over threats to broadcast licenses.” August 18, 2026. Federal Communications Commission documents establishing accelerated renewal proceedings for eight Disney-owned ABC television licenses.
12. White House executive action concerning federal funding for NPR and PBS; Associated Press reporting on litigation over public-media funding; congressional action concerning federal support for public broadcasting, 2025–2026.
13. Congressional proposals and Senate defense-authorization provisions intended to codify the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes , including the proposed Stars and Stripes Editorial Independence Act .