Three Democratic senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday questioning the Pentagon's involvement in the operations of Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper. The inquiry follows an announcement this week that the publication’s longtime publisher, Max Lederer, will retire at the end of next month. Lederer stated his departure resulted from differences between his vision for the paper and the Department of Defense's (DOD) goals regarding the outlet's direction.
The senators raised questions regarding the Pentagon’s recent appointment of William Urban, an active-duty Navy captain and public affairs officer, as Lederer’s deputy. The letter stated that the appointment was made without consulting Lederer and expressed concern regarding the newspaper's independence. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who all serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, requested a detailed explanation of Urban’s role by August 28.
Recent Pentagon actions have focused on changing the military newspaper’s content. A March memo from the DOD established new guidelines requiring content to be "consistent with good order and discipline of the military." In January, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated the department intended to refocus the outlet to move away from what he described as distractions that "siphon morale."
The scale of the impact involves the entire editorial staff and the editorial leadership structure, which currently includes a publisher who is retiring due to disagreements over the department's "pace and direction." The appointment of an active-duty officer to a top leadership role at a newspaper that covers the military sets a precedent regarding whether the Pentagon can directly supervise or influence the editorial content of a publication intended to serve as an independent source of information for soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.
The knock-on effects could influence future policy regarding how the Department of Defense communicates with its workforce and the level of transparency expected from its authorized media outlets. While the senators have requested a response by August 28, it is not yet known how the Pentagon will respond or what safeguards, if any, will be implemented to separate military command from editorial decisions. The next step occurs at the end of September when Lederer officially departs and the department determines who will assume permanent leadership of the organization.