Overview
- Max D. Lederer Jr. told staff he will retire at the end of September, a move he said reflects fundamental differences with Pentagon leadership announced on Wednesday.
- Lederer objected to DoD modernization plans, especially a proposed shift from print to digital, saying a digital-only model would limit service members’ access to the paper.
- The announcement follows the Pentagon’s firing of Stars and Stripes’ ombudsman earlier this year and a January statement from spokesman Sean Parnell that the department would refocus the outlet on warfighters.
- Pentagon efforts to control media access have included last year’s credential limits and a policy declaring parts of the press office classified, a rule the D.C. Circuit panel said could stand.
- Critics and the paper’s advisory board warn these moves threaten editorial independence, with recent Stars and Stripes reporting on USS Abraham Lincoln crew welfare cited as a flashpoint that could prompt more congressional and legal scrutiny.