The longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes has announced his retirement, ending a decades-long career with the military newspaper as Pentagon moves to exert editorial control and eliminate what it asserts are 鈥渨oke distractions.鈥�
Max D. Lederer Jr. announced his retirement, effective at the end of September, in a memo to staff on Tuesday, as well as in an interview with Stars and Stripes. In the memo, seen by The Associated Press, Lederer, the second full-time civilian in the position, wrote that it had 鈥渂ecome clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization.鈥�
The announcement comes less than four months after the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, ombudsman for the newspaper, whose job was to safeguard editorial independence. The news outlet is partly funded by the Defense Department, but has a legacy of independence from military and government leadership. 鈥淣o one should be surprised that they鈥檙e kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes鈥� editorial independence,” Smith wrote in a column.
Stars and Stripes has recently been at the forefront of some of the reporting on conditions for sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln and concerns for their mental health during the aircraft carrier鈥檚 long deployment 鈥� concerns that .
It’s part of larger, government-driven changes to the military publication
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Lederer鈥檚 retirement, which comes seven months after the department announced in a social media post that it would essentially overhaul the newspaper to align with its current messaging.
Hegseth’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, wrote on on X in January that the Pentagon 鈥渋s returning Stars and Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.鈥� He said the department will 鈥渞efocus its content away from woke distractions.鈥�
鈥淪tars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,鈥� Parnell wrote. 鈥淚t will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.鈥�
More broadly, the developments at Stars and Stripes come against a backdrop of increased efforts by Hegseth to control media coverage of the department.
Last year, officials attempted to impose which, in turn, led most news outlets to turn in their access badges and .
Then this summer, the Pentagon took another step and declared its press office 鈥� instituting a policy that journalists must be accompanied by an escort on Pentagon grounds. That policy . In mid-July, a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the policy could stand, overturning
In her titled 鈥淭he Pentagon is trying to silence me,鈥� Smith, the former ombudsman, expressed concern over increasing restrictions on the media.
鈥淔or nearly a year, Pentagon leadership has placed more and more restrictions on the mainstream media,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭he New York Times sued and when the Defense/War Department lost in court, instead of following the judge鈥檚 ruling Secretary Hegseth and company pivoted, finding another way to restrict journalists.鈥�
Of Stars and Stripes, Smith wrote: 鈥淭his newspaper has a long history of commitment to the military community and to journalistic values. Please don鈥檛 let it be controlled by Pentagon brass.鈥�
The departing publisher objected to certain changes
Lederer was not made available for an interview with the AP. he said he did not feel the modernization efforts the Pentagon announced in March were appropriate, in particular a transitioning of print products to digital 鈥� a move he feared would limit accessibility for troops.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel that there鈥檚 a full recognition of the value of multiple platforms versus only a digital platform,鈥� Lederer was quoted as saying.
In another development, Stars and Stripes said it could not confirm an account that, in recent weeks, a new deputy had been installed by the Pentagon under Lederer without the publisher鈥檚 prior knowledge.
In a letter seen by the AP, Rufus Friday, the chair of Stars and Stripes鈥� advisory board of publishers, wrote to congressional leaders about the arrival of the new deputy, a development he said 鈥渢hreatens Stripes鈥檚 editorial independence.鈥�
Roughly half of Stars and Stripes’ budget comes from the Pentagon, and its staff members are considered Defense Department employees.
The outlet鈥檚 mission statement emphasizes that it is 鈥渆ditorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command鈥� and that it is unique among news organizations tied to the Defense Department in being 鈥済overned by the principles of the First Amendment.鈥�
The newspaper has been reporting about the military steadily since World War II, to an audience mainly of service members stationed overseas.
Lederer told Stars and Stripes that while his retirement is effective Sept. 30, he does not know whether the Pentagon will keep him as publisher until then or name an acting publisher.
___
Jocelyn Noveck writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
