Overview
- The Pentagon’s top spokesman, Sean Parnell, said Stars and Stripes will concentrate on “reporting for our warfighters,” drop “woke distractions,” and stop running Associated Press reprints.
- Stars and Stripes operates within the Defense Media Activity but has its editorial independence codified by Congress, with roughly half its budget coming from the Defense Department.
- The outlet’s ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, called the Pentagon statement a surprise and underscored that the paper’s credibility depends on maintaining editorial independence.
- A day earlier, OPM confirmed USAJobs applications for Stars and Stripes included an optional essay on advancing President Trump’s executive orders, which Stars and Stripes leadership said they had not been told about.
- A right-leaning report said officials plan to feature content written by active-duty service members and increase War Department–produced materials, while Pentagon officials offered no detailed public guidance beyond the spokesman’s post.