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Move by Trump officials is testing the independence of military paper Stars and Stripes

For more than a century, the newspaper Stars and Stripes has published stories of deep interest to troops and their families, but often a bit niche for the mainstream press.

In recent years, articles have delved into everything from black mold in military housing to child neglect in base day care centers to U.S. agreements with host countries that thwart military spouses鈥� ability to work. The paper鈥檚 reporting has also sparked questions about the Pentagon鈥檚 managerial competence.

Partially funded by the Department of Defense (DOD), the soldier-produced daily has long operated free from Pentagon censorship. Until now.

Last week, the Trump administration announced plans to exert control over the newspaper to 鈥渞efocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,鈥� Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell

Going forward, the newspaper will 鈥渂e custom tailored to our warfighter鈥� with a focus on 鈥渨ar fighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.鈥欌��

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, for whom Mr. Parnell serves as an adviser, reposted the announcement.

The move has raised questions about the newspaper鈥檚 independence and how its service to a largely military audience may change. While much of the paper鈥檚 reporting covers sports and daily life on-base, Stars and Stripes articles have spurred lawsuits against the Defense Department and calls for improved oversight in matters that tend to affect low-ranking troops the most.

The paper has not just informed American troops over the years. It has also spoken for them, advocates say. The Trump administration鈥檚 announcement, as a result, is prompting concerns that service members could be denied the support such reporting provides.

鈥淭he people who risk their lives in defense of the Constitution have earned the right to the press freedoms of the First Amendment,鈥� Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin wrote in a note to Stars and Stripes staffers last week.

鈥淣o censorship鈥�

Stars and Stripes dates back to the start of the Civil War, in 1861, when 10 journalists serving as Union soldiers came across a printing press and decided to publish a four-page issue with an editorial that spoke candidly about the losses of war. 鈥淲e should all remember that we have not started out to destroy a country,鈥� it read, 鈥渂ut to save one.鈥�

The newspaper soon halted publication, but it was relaunched in 1918 during World War I by Gen. John Pershing, who envisioned a newspaper that 鈥渟hould speak the thoughts of the new American Army and the American people from whom the Army has been drawn. It is your paper,鈥� he wrote on the front page of the first issue of the war. 鈥淕ood luck to it.鈥�

During World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted Stars and Stripes to be 鈥渢he equivalent of a soldier鈥檚 hometown newspaper, with no censorship of its contents, other than for security,鈥� he wrote.

The late CBS commentator Andy Rooney, a Stars and Stripes reporter during his time in the U.S. Army, recalled in a broadcast that Eisenhower 鈥渕ade it possible for us to be a good newspaper by protecting us from every petty major, colonel, or brigadier general who tried to influence the content of our paper.鈥�

When Gen. George Patton objected to a Bill Mauldin cartoon that lampooned him 鈥� demanding the artist soldier be fired and sent back to the infantry 鈥� Eisenhower told him 鈥渢o mind his own business,鈥� recalled Mr. Rooney, who interviewed Eisenhower frequently while covering the war.

A battle for control

The Trump administration tried to shut down the newspaper in 2020, during the president鈥檚 first term. But the move was met with protest, including from a bipartisan group of senators who called the publication 鈥渁n essential part of our nation鈥檚 freedom of the press that serves the very population charged with defending that freedom.鈥�

鈥淎s a veteran who has served overseas, I know the value that the Stars and Stripes brings to its readers,鈥� Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, wrote in a 2020 letter to then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, protesting Pentagon plans to defund the publication.

President Trump then reversed course and weighed in, tweeting that the United States would not be cutting funding to Stars and Stripes 鈥渦nder my watch.鈥�

The $15.5 million in federal money makes up roughly half the newspaper鈥檚 operating budget, with the other half coming from subscriptions and advertising. The paper, free to deployed service members, nearly 1 million customers daily through its print, online, and podcast editions.

This time around, while some Democrats, namely those on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the administration鈥檚 move as a First Amendment violation, Republican criticism has been muted.

A new question for applicants

Mr. Parnell鈥檚 announcement came a day after The Washington Post reported that job applicants at the newspaper are now being asked on the government鈥檚 employment website how they would 鈥渁dvance鈥� President Trump鈥檚 policies, should they be hired.

The director of the federal Office of Personnel Management, which runs the site, told the Post that answering that question is optional. But U.S. officials suggest, in the wake of Mr. Parnell鈥檚 announcement, that a revamped Stars and Stripes will focus on amplifying the administration鈥檚 messages. Roughly half of the new content on the Stars and Stripes website is expected to be 鈥淲ar Department-generated materials,鈥� according to defense officials cited in The Daily Wire, a conservative media outlet.

This threatens the independence of the Stars and Stripes, says Kelly McBride, chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit that specializes in the practice of journalism.

鈥淭he publication has made a promise to its audience that it will cover the military with the needs of the people who serve and their families at the forefront,鈥欌�� she says. The priority is not 鈥渢o promote the policies of the administration.鈥欌��

One possible speed bump for the Trump administration鈥檚 move is that Stars and Stripes has an ombudsman whose job is reporting any threat to its independence to Congress, a position created in 1991 by the House Armed Services Committee. That ombudsman is currently in contact with lawmakers and others on Capitol Hill, Editor-in-Chief Slavin tells the Monitor.

鈥淎t this point, they [administration officials] have not reached out to us directly to discuss this,鈥� he says. When Stars and Stripes reporters contacted defense officials in recent days to ask about the administration鈥檚 move for editorial control, they were referred to Mr. Parnell鈥檚 social media post, he adds.

In the meantime, 鈥淲e continue to do our jobs. ... We report on the military at a very granular level,鈥� covering stories that might otherwise go unexamined, Mr. Slavin says.

These include pieces on the high price of off-base housing for U.S. soldiers stationed in Poland, working conditions for sailors on U.S. Navy ships, and students with military parents protesting the removal of books from DOD-run school library shelves (an issue also covered by the Monitor.) The book removals were part of Secretary Hegseth鈥檚 latest efforts to dial back attentiveness to diversity, which he says threatens warfighting unity.

Many of the Stars and Stripes articles are notable for the access reporters often have when they live and work in military communities.

鈥淣obody else is going to write those stories,鈥� Mr. Slavin says. 鈥淏ut we do, because we know our readers care.鈥�