Thomas L. Knapp is a director and senior news analyst at The William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism, where this was first published. He lives in north central Florida.
In late 1861, Union soldiers in Bloomfield, Missouri, found the local newspaper’s office empty and decided to put it to good use. Stars and Stripes covered the activities of the three Illinois regiments. Their commander in chief, of course, was President Abraham Lincoln.
Over time, the paper gained direct funding from the military but with supposed “editorial independence” and a mission “to provide first-hand reporting from bases around the world and unbiased, credible news to America’s military.” Those who worked in uniform abroad through two world wars and after, often not in a position to visit a newspaper stand or receive news via TV or radio, could read Stars and Stripes (I read it in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm).
On Aug. 21, U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth fired the paper’s publisher, editor-in-chief and a top reporter after they publicly commented on Department of Defense “interference” with the newspaper’s “independence.”
Once again, Abraham Lincoln — or at least the aircraft carrier named for him — played a central role, as Hegseth whined over the paper’s coverage of complaints from deployed sailors’ families concerning the material and mental health situation aboard that vessel.
The firings aren’t really as sudden as they might seem to those not following closely over time.
The first Trump administration floated a plan to shutter Stars and Stripes but backed down after a “bipartisan” backlash. With Hegseth at the helm in Trump’s second time around, the Defense Department rages frequently against “woke distractions” in its reportage, firing its ombudsman in May for noticing that attempts to change it into a “morale booster,” instead of a news outlet, are “contrary to the news organization’s mission.”
So, here’s the thing: Who pays the piper, calls the tune.
Stars and Stripes is largely funded by, and its operations and distribution are almost completely enabled by, the U.S. government. “Editorial independence” may sound like a wonderful idea, but there’s always been a leash. We’re just watching the leash get shorter.
Thankfully, the collar at the end of that leash only strangles Stars and Stripes.
These days, even troops aboard ships at sea and at remote firebases in hostile territory have far greater contact with the outside world, most of the time, than even civilians at home enjoyed 50, let alone 150, years ago.
Cellphones. Email. Web access. Zoom. It’s not 100% there 100% of the time, but neither was Stars and Stripes.
Pete Hegseth can cry if he wants to. He can throw himself on the floor and threaten to hold his breath until he turns blue. The troops will still get their news, whether he likes it or not. They’ll get the kind of coverage they want to get, not just the kind he wants them to get.
And, because all that technology runs two-way, they can also report the news they want covered without consulting him first, as he obviously expects Stars and Stripes to.
The military news coverage, and consumption, of the future will look a lot more like WikiLeaks than like Stars and Stripes.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
