Staffers at Stars and Stripes — a military-focused publication funded in part by the Pentagon but with a remit from Congress to operate independently — are worried about an “America First” takeover.
After a Pentagon spokesman posted that the paper needed to move away from what he characterized as “woke distractions” and “repurposed DC gossip columns,” the editor in chief sent a message to the anxious staff.
In the memo, obtained by Business Insider, Erik Slavin responded to the “surprise” announcement from the Pentagon. “The people who risk their lives in defense of the Constitution have earned the right to the press freedoms of the First Amendment,” he wrote. “We will not compromise on serving them with accurate and balanced coverage, holding military officials to account when called for.”
There’s growing unease among the staff about the Pentagon’s plans for the paper and its original reporting, several told Business Insider. The military has multiple avenues for press releases and other official government communications; Stars and Stripes isn’t one of them.
U S Signal Corps/PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Stars and Stripes is a news outlet with origins dating to the Civil War that serves active-duty troops, military families, and veterans. Half of its funding comes from the Pentagon budget. The paper is free for troops deployed to war zones, and sold for $1 at bases across Europe and the Pacific. It distributed 6.2 million papers in fiscal year 2024. The rest of its revenue comes from advertisements and online subscriptions.
Some headlines from a recent issue included:
- “Yokota celebrates rare triple Eagle Scout ceremony”
- “Coast Guard vows to catch up on sex assault reports”
- “Allies head to Greenland”
Stars and Stripes, which has roughly four dozen editorial staff, according to its online directory, has long operated with editorial independence, though not without pressure. It came under threat of being shut down during the first Trump administration, and now Pentagon leaders are signaling a desire to exert new control.
Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell said in a statement on X that the plan is to “refocus its content away from woke distractions;” he did not cite specific articles by Stripes staff. These moves have rattled the editorial staff, who say the mood inside the newsroom is uncertain and that Parnell has not spoken to their newsroom or answered questions about the changes. Reporters fear that their jobs are in jeopardy.
Evidence of an impending overhaul can be seen in applications with questions including how journalists would “help advance the President’s Executive Orders” and how they would improve government efficiency.
Such job application questions emerged across the government during a blitz of DOGE-driven federal reforms early last year aimed at cutting spending and enforcing ideological alignment across federal agencies.
Stars and Stripes has prided itself on editorial independence from Defense Department officials, and describes its mission as “news honestly, fairly, and objectively without personal opinion or bias.”
Ernesto Hernandez Fonte/US Navy
Focus on ‘warfighting’
“Stars & Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Parnell said in a X post. “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.”
A current staffer expressed confusion at what of Stars and Stripes’ content could be considered “woke;” Parnell didn’t provide examples.”It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around,” a current Stars and Stripes staffer shared.
The Defense Department declined to comment on questions about how the Pentagon intends to overhaul the outlet or cut its staff and referred Business Insider to Parnell’s post without answering questions.
While Stars and Stripes does cover Pentagon leadership and some Beltway politics related to US military issues, the bulk of its reporting focuses on military-specific issues that impact troops and families daily — base healthcare, military school systems, crime on base, and the lived experiences of service members stationed overseas.
Stars and Stripes reporters received recent accolades for reporting on the 2020 murder of Army Spc. Vannesaa Guillen, photojournalism focused on veterans, and coverage of the impacts of sexual assault and suicide on military families. The outlet received one of journalism’s most prestigious awards in 2010, a George Polk Award, for coverage highlighting the Pentagon’s efforts to profile journalists with external help and shift them toward more favorable coverage of the war in Afghanistan.
Credibility at risk
Ombudsman Jacqueline Smith, who helps preserve the outlet’s independence, told Business Insider that Parnell’s statement came as “a complete surprise.”
“If the Department of Defense or War begins to dictate what the coverage should be, what the ‘news’ should be in Stars and Stripes,” she said, then “it loses its credibility and harms its mission to provide fair and impartial news to the military community.”
U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Brendan Mackie/Released
Democratic senators wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to voice their support for Stars and Stripes’ continued editorial independence.
“Congress has been clear for decades that Stars and Stripes must be governed by First Amendment principles and insulated from political influence,” the letter said.
Concerns about Stars and Stripes’ independence come amid a broader crisis in military journalism, as major outlets crumble. Military Times has been hit by multiple rounds of layoffs, dramatically reducing its reporting capacity, while another online news site, Military.com, was sold to a private equity firm and its veteran-heavy staff was gutted, effectively ending its accountability-focused reporting, former Stripes staffers said.
Those outlets, and Stars and Stripes, have historically covered important issues such as food scarcity on base, traumatic brain injuries, job pressures, and suicide within the ranks.
Staffers at Stars and Stripes are also worried about their jobs. On Thursday, The Daily Wire reported the Pentagon plans to staff Stars and Stripes with more active-duty personnel, a change that could mean layoffs for civilian reporters and fewer stories that spotlight problems, Stripes staffers said.
Members of the editorial staff told Business Insider that they want to stay at the paper, but some have already started looking for new work.
“In my gut,” a staffer said, “I have a very uneasy feeling about where this is headed.”
