Pentagon to Overhaul Independent Military Newspaper Stars and Stripes

The Pentagon said it will take editorial control over a historic military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, in an effort to get rid of what the department sees as “woke” policies and coverage.

“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” said Sean Parnell, a Defense Department spokesperson, in a social media post Thursday.

Parnell added that the Pentagon would change the newsroom’s priorities to “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.”

According to Defense Department sources who spoke with the right-wing publication The Daily Wire, the Pentagon plans to hire active-duty service members and distribute “War Department-generated materials” that would account for roughly 50% of Stars and Stripes’ editorial production.

In addition, Parnell said the publication will no longer use wire services, such as the Associated Press or Reuters.

“That is public relations, not independent journalism,” Jacqueline Smith, the publication’s ombudsman, told Stars and Stripes. “The other ‘50%’ of the content would hold no credibility.”

Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin told NOTUS that the publication did not receive any communication from the Pentagon before Parnell’s post.

“We are continuing to provide accurate and balanced news on matters of interest to the military, with emphasis on overseas communities. We do so in places and on topics — housing, pay, field exercises and even sports, to name a few — that no other news outlet regularly covers,” Slavin said.

The publication came under fire Wednesday when The Washington Post reported that applicants to their open job positions were asked if they would promote Trump policy. Employees at the Stars and Stripes are Defense Department employees but have traditionally exercised editorial independence.

Democrats on the Senate Armed Forces Committee criticized the move by the Defense Department to overhaul Stars and Stripes.

“The Secretary of Defense is attacking our free press to avoid any kind of oversight, including transparency to the American people,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “That’s not what we do in a democracy.”

The Stars and Stripes was first printed by Union soldiers during the Civil War and resurged during World War II. Since then, the paper has continually covered news pertinent to members of all six branches of the military.

The newsroom published a piece about the changes Thursday, insisting that it is congressionally mandated that the paper runs independently, despite the fact that it receives funding from the Pentagon.

In 2020, the Pentagon invested $15.5 million, around half of the newsroom’s budget at the time, in Stars and Stripes. The other half of the newsroom’s funding comes from advertisements and subscriptions.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the planned changes at Stars and Stripes.