By many accounts, the president’s unauthorized war is going poorly—and the Trump administration seems intent on tamping down those accounts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is making good on his promise to overhaul Stars and Stripes, the 165-year-old independent military newspaper he bashed for “woke distractions.” The Department of Defense released an eight-page memo this week outlining the new restrictions and guidelines that Stars and Stripes must abide by. Stars and Stripes first reported the memo on Friday.
The publication, which began in 1861, receives over a third of its funding from the Pentagon, with the rest coming from advertisements and subscriptions. Even with this federal funding, Congress has affirmed its editorial independence.
The memo, dated March 9, detailed the defense department’s “modernization” plan for the outlet, which includes limits on wire services, bars the publication of comics and syndicated features, and asserts that content should be consistent with “good order and discipline,” a phrase taken from the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The publication will transition from print to digital-only.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell told the Daily Beast that the plans will return Stars and Stripes “to its original mission” of being “an independent news source for service members stationed overseas that is by the warfighter and for the warfighter.”
Parnell said this will be achieved through the “transition to uniformed staff at locations outside the continental U.S., and other efficiency measures that will eliminate redundancies and ensure smart use of DOW resources.” The Department of Defense was dubbed the Department of War by the Trump administration.
“The Department’s effort will evolve S&S to meet industry trends and changes in how new generations of Service members consume media,” he continued.
The Pentagon did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for clarification around the guidelines for content to achieve “good order and discipline.”
When Stars and Stripes reported on their own new guidelines, it noted that Parnell did not share how they were determined. Parnell also did not divulge how the guidelines would be implemented. Publisher Max Lederer told staffers that he was not informed about the proposed changes. Critics have bashed the Department of Defense’s attempts to strip the paper of its editorial independence, calling it a threat to free speech.
“That’s a threat to the First Amendment, certainly, and the independence that the Congress has long guaranteed for the newsroom,” Timothy Richardson, program director of journalism and disinformation for PEN America, told Stars and Stripes.
Parnell shared the department’s vision for Stars and Stripes in January, saying it would “refocus its content away from woke distractions that siphon morale.” He said the paper will cover “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.”
Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin told the Daily Beast at the time that he was surprised by the Pentagon’s announcement.
“The people who swear to defend the Constitution have earned the right to enjoy its benefits, including access to a free and independent press,” Slavin wrote in an email.
The attack on Stars and Stripes is the latest in the administration’s attempts to undermine the free press.
President Donald Trump has also had Voice of America in its crosshairs. While Trump appointed MAGA loyalist and failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to dismantle the station, a federal judge has ruled that her efforts to gut it were illegal.
Earlier this week, former Fox News contributor Hegseth banned photographers from press briefings after they reportedly took unflattering photos of him, though the Pentagon claims the photographers were barred due to space issues.
The day after Stars and Stripes reported its new guidelines, Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr issued a threat to American broadcasters.
“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr threatened.
