The Defense Department has begun to exert greater control over *Stars and Stripes*, weeks after a top spokesman accused the independent military newspaper of focusing on “woke distractions.”
This week, the Pentagon announced what it calls “modernization” changes in a memo dated March 9 and effective immediately, according to a copy seen by NPR and first reported by *Stars and Stripes* on Friday. The move marks the latest effort by the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to impose extraordinary limits on journalists covering the agency.
### Editorial Independence Under New Restrictions
The memo states that *Stars and Stripes* will continue to “operate with editorial independence.” However, it also mandates that the newspaper must immediately begin implementing the Defense Department’s new interim policies and cease publishing several types of content.
Moreover, the memo declares that the publication’s content “must be consistent with good order and discipline,” a phrase rooted in military justice.
Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of *Stars and Stripes*, told NPR on Saturday that this language raises significant concerns for his staff, many of whom are active members of the U.S. military and thus subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“If they were to complete a story that the Defense Department did not like, and did not find ‘consistent with good order and discipline,’ would they be in legal jeopardy?” Slavin said. “We don’t know the answer to that.”
### Pentagon Frames Changes as a Return to Core Mission
This new memo follows weeks after the Pentagon publicly criticized *Stars and Stripes* and promised an overhaul of the publication.
“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that siphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a January 15 post on X (formerly Twitter).
In a statement emailed to NPR on Saturday, Parnell said the Defense Department “is returning [Stars and Stripes] to its original mission: an independent news source for service members stationed overseas that is by the warfighter and for the warfighter.”
Parnell added that the changes would allow the newspaper “to evolve” and “meet industry trends and changes in how new generations of service members consume media.”
### Lack of Direct Communication with Newspaper Leadership
Slavin revealed that the Defense Department had not responded to his attempts at communication since Parnell’s January post. The Pentagon did not send the new memo directly to *Stars and Stripes*; instead, it issued a statement regarding the newspaper’s article about the memo.
The memo indicated that a copy would be sent to *Stars and Stripes* Publisher Max Lederer; however, Slavin told NPR that Lederer did not receive it. Slavin himself only discovered the memo on Thursday—three days after its issuance—when a staff member found it on a Defense Department website.
### A Legacy of Independent Military Journalism
*Stars and Stripes* has served the U.S. military with independent reporting for decades. The newspaper first covered U.S. military actions during the Civil War and has been published continuously since World War II. While owned by the Defense Department, it is largely staffed by civilian reporters and editors.
By Congressional mandate, the paper has operated independently since the 1990s. However, under the Trump administration, the Pentagon appeared to challenge that mandate. In January, the Defense Department withdrew a federal regulation underpinning this independence, according to *Stars and Stripes*.
The new memo instructs that the newspaper’s ombudsman now must send information intended for Congress to the Defense Department first, rather than directly to federal legislators.
### Political Context and Attempts at Greater Media Control
*Stars and Stripes* has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, including from former President Donald Trump. In 2020, during his first administration, the Pentagon threatened to shut down the newspaper before Trump intervened, calling it “a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!” in a social media post.
However, more recently, Trump and his allies have sought to exert greater control over various media entities. Defense Secretary Hegseth’s Pentagon has been particularly aggressive in this regard.
In September, Hegseth introduced a policy requiring media outlets to pledge not to gather information unless defense officials had formally authorized its release. Many established news organizations, including NPR, chose to relinquish their press credentials rather than agree to the policy.
### Criticism from Press Freedom Advocates
Press freedom advocacy groups have denounced the latest Pentagon memo following *Stars and Stripes*’ report.
“Service members and military families rely on *Stars and Stripes* for independent reporting, not for material shaped or dictated by the very officials the paper is supposed to hold accountable,” said Tim Richardson, director of the journalism and disinformation program at PEN America.
### Impact on Coverage of War Zones and Popular Events
The Defense Department’s new memo is expected to heavily restrict *Stars and Stripes*’ daily news operations, including coverage of the new war in Iran and other combat zones where many of its readers may be deployed.
This is largely due to a prohibition on publishing most content from wire services such as the Associated Press or Reuters. Wire services are critical for many news organizations to provide coverage of important stories they cannot cover firsthand.
As a result, *Stars and Stripes* readers may not see stories or photos from Iran or other active war zones where the newspaper lacks journalists on the ground.
The memo also bans *Stars and Stripes* from using wire services to cover lighter news, including the upcoming March Madness college basketball tournament and other major sporting events.
Notably, the memo explicitly prohibits the publication of comic strips.
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*Stars and Stripes* staff are scheduled to meet Monday morning to discuss how to comply with the new memo. Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin expressed “deep concern for our staff and our readership,” emphasizing that the memo “restricts what news sources can be published and directs that *Stars and Stripes* should publish official public relations stories.”
As the Pentagon moves to redefine *Stars and Stripes*, questions remain about the future of independent military journalism and its role in informing service members around the world.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/14/nx-s1-5748020/pentagon-tightens-controls-over-stars-and-stripes-after-calling-it-woke