Military newspaper editor says he was fired for raising concerns about Pentagon censorship

Geoff Bennett:

Now to the leadership upheaval at Stars and Stripes, the newspaper that has served American troops for generations. Its publisher was fired, and its editor and one of its reporters were removed as well.

The turmoil has raised new questions about the future of a publication with an unusual mandate. Stars and Stripes is funded in part by the Pentagon, but is protected from military censorship and editorial control.

Erik Slavin was its editor until last week, and he joins us now.

Thank you for being here.

Erik Slavin, Former Editor in Chief, Stars and Stripes: Thank you for having me.

Geoff Bennett:

So let's start with what happened. On Friday, you received a separation notice from Stars and Stripes. What reason were you given for your firing?

Erik Slavin:

It didn't actually come from Stars and Stripes. It came directly from the Pentagon. But I was told that I was being -- receiving a notice of proposed separation for insubordination, and it cited a CBS interview that I did where I said that hypothetical censorship would be a personal red line.

Geoff Bennett:

So you were fired for saying that censorship is bad?

Erik Slavin:

Essentially, yes.

Geoff Bennett:

This comes amid a broader shakeup. The Pentagon fired the publisher after he announced his retirement. You were let go, as was a Middle East reporter in April. The Pentagon fired the ombudsman for the newspaper, whose job had been to safeguard editorial independence.

Do you see all of this is connected?

Erik Slavin:

Yes, I do.

Going back to January the 15th, that's when we first saw a tweet from the Pentagon's press office, which was coordinated with the rescission of the Code of Federal Regulations, which spelled out a lot of the freedoms that were guaranteed to Stars and Stripes.

At the same time, there was a leak to a friendly news organization to the administration that talked about getting rid of our overseas reporters and replacing them with military reporters. So I think there were -- there were plans.

Geoff Bennett:

And days before your separation, Stars and Stripes published significant reporting about the problems aboard the USS Lincoln. Your firing notice doesn't mention that story, but do you have any evidence that that reporting played a role in your dismissal?

Erik Slavin:

You know, as you said, it wasn't in the statement. I can tell you that, on August the 11th, Stars and Stripes was the first to break a lot of the details that came about aboard the USS Lincoln.

And I'm very proud of the reporting that we did. It's a fundamental benefit for U.S. service members to be able to have that kind of credible reporting. Now, the administration didn't single out Stars and Stripes, but I know there were certain people within the administration who did voice displeasure with the reporting about it.

So, my separation came about 10 days later. As I said, it doesn't cite that. Those are just -- those are the facts.

Geoff Bennett:

I want to pick up on something that you said about members of the military being able to rely on Stars and Stripes for credible reporting. For viewers who might not know about this media organization, explain how it's different from any other news organization covering the military.

Erik Slavin:

So, Stars and Stripes exists at many different overseas bases, and Stars and Stripes will cover the kinds of stories that nobody else really has the interest or the bandwidth to cover, because nobody else is going to look into the cost of housing for service members at a small base in Poland or the barracks in Germany or a high school basketball game between two schools on military bases.

We cover these kinds of things because we know there's an audience for it, and we know that nobody else will.

Geoff Bennett:

At the same time, you have the Pentagon providing roughly half of Stars and Stripes' funding. There is this question some people might ask, why shouldn't Pentagon leadership have some say over the publication?

Erik Slavin:

Well, the Pentagon already has its own public affairs wing. What Stars and Stripes brings is unique.

And, ultimately, I think it's great for the morale of service members when they can look at something and say, yes, this is credible. This reflects my lived experience, and it's not something that's coming out of a public relations arm. It's something real.

Geoff Bennett:

We were just looking at this extraordinary montage of people reading your paper, your former paper, Stars and Stripes, over the generations.

As you see it, where is the legitimate line between oversight and interference with independent journalism?

Erik Slavin:

Well, Stars and Stripes has to remain independent from the military chain of command. Its editorial content must remain that way for it to be credible.

And that's something that General Dwight Eisenhower said in World War II. He said: "This is the soldiers' paper. Do not interfere."

And that has been the tradition of Stars and Stripes, and I certainly hope that it can continue in some way.

Geoff Bennett:

Erik Slavin, thank you for being here and for sharing your story.

Erik Slavin:

Thank you.