Stars and Stripes Editor Says DoD Fired Him After 1 Censorship Warning
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 22
Stars and Stripes Editor Says DoD Fired Him After 1 Censorship Warning
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 22
Summary
Erik Slavin said the Pentagon fired him for "insubordination" after he told CBS that censorship would be a "red line," and said he was given no official explanation and no appeal.
Lara Korte, the paper's Middle East reporter, said she was also dismissed over the same interview, while publisher Max Lederer was fired after saying his view of the paper's mission differed fundamentally from the Pentagon's.
Slavin said the sackings came as Pentagon officials grew less willing to speak on the record and after the paper reported on strains aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, which has spent more than 240 uninterrupted days at sea.
The firings drew a rebuke from the National Press Club and intensified scrutiny of a broader Trump-era clash with the press, including rejected Pentagon reporting rules and earlier White House limits on AP access.