Fired Stars and Stripes Journos Sue Pentagon

​Lawsuit Cast as Bid to Keep ‘Propaganda-Free News’:
NABJ Leader Links Attiah Case, Black Journalists’ Plight
BET Launches ‘Community Reporting Initiative’
700 Academics Defend Accuser of Tormented Black Prof
Jose Suarez, Telemundo Exec, Dies in Kenya Copter Crash

Short Takes: Kansas City Call; Associated Press layoffs; anniversary of Israeli air strikes fatal to journalists; Abby Phillip; Don Lemon; when the Klan marched in Oregon; “Roots” 50th anniversary; Cathy Hughes; Ruben Salalzar; deadline for entries for $25,0000 prize.

Homepage photo: Sean Parnell, senior adviser to the secretary of defense; Stars and Stripes. Credit: Fox News

Three journalists from Stars and Stripes say they were abruptly fired by the Pentagon for “insubordination” following an interview with CBS News. Lara Korte, one of the fired journalists, joins Peter Alexander to speak out. (Credit: MS NOW/YouTube)

Lawsuit Cast as Bid to Keep ‘Propaganda-Free News’

“The Pentagon’s firing last week of three employees of the newspaper Stars and Stripes was done out of retaliation over unflattering coverage of a Navy deployment and in violation of the protected right to free speech, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Washington,” Rose L. Thayer reported for the publication.

“Erik Slavin (pictured), the editor in chief; Lara Korte, the paper’s Middle East reporter; and Max D. Lederer Jr., the publisher, filed the 45-page lawsuit against chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and another public affairs official, Andrew Brey. It asks the court to halt their terminations as unlawful and seeks an immediate restraining order”.

The journalists’ lawyers said in a statement, “The firings were initiated the day after Stars and Stripes broke the story about the dire conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.”

After a CBS interview, “the Pentagon’s concerns shifted from the substance of Stars and Stripes’ reporting to the loyalty of its leadership. A July performance review written by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell accused senior staff of ‘open rebellion’ and said, ‘the most important element of the performance plan is the faithful administration of POTUS policies.’ The lawsuit cites this language as evidence that political compliance was being demanded from an independent newsroom.

“That pressure escalated after Stars and Stripes published critical reporting on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Aug. 11. The next day, Pentagon officials directed publisher Max Lederer to begin the process of firing Slavin and Korte over their earlier CBS comments. Lederer questioned the legal basis for the actions and refused to carry them out, setting up his own confrontation with Pentagon leadership. On Aug. 21, DoD issued proposed separation notices to all three plaintiffs.”

Thayer’s report continued, “ ‘Our goal is to protect the rights of service members and their families to a free and independent press,’ the three said in a statement.

“ ‘Stars and Stripes has served them for generations, and that independence is essential to keeping military communities fully and accurately informed. This lawsuit is about safeguarding that mission and ensuring our civilian and military journalists can do their jobs without retaliation.’

“The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The legal team representing the journalists is the same that represents employees of Voice of America, another government-owned news outlet that the Trump Administration has attempted to shut down. Both have mandates to give propaganda-free news, said David Seide, an attorney on the case with the Government Accountability Project.

“Voice of America employees have two lawsuits ongoing against the government — one regarding their employment and the other about violations to its First Amendment protections. ‘Enough is enough,’ Seide said in a statement about the Stripes lawsuit. “It’s a sad day when independent journalists are punished just for saying they are not tools to promote government propaganda. Our lawsuit seeks to right that wrong.”

“Slavin, Korte and Lederer received notice last Friday charging insubordination. Stars and Stripes is an independent newspaper owned by the Defense Department. Its employees are federal workers but operate the paper as a commercial news organization. Paperwork for Slavin and Korte cited a CBS News interview that was broadcast in July. Each discussed the First Amendment principles that guided their work at the newspaper, which has been in continuous circulation since World War II.. . . . ”

Read the complaint

• Michael Calderone, New York: Why the Editor of Stars and Stripes Is Suing the Pentagon

• Journal-isms: Hegseth’s DEI Disses Not Going Unanswered (June 1)

• Sidnee Michelle, Black Enterprise: Black Veterans Urge Navy To Keep Doris Miller’s Name On Historic Navy Carrier

Karen Attiah praises the News Guild after her arbitration victory this week. (Credit: Facebook)

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NABJ Leader Links Attiah Case, Black Journos’ Plight

“Black journalists have always been at the forefront of the fight in another mission — advancing newsroom diversity,” Errin Haines, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, and Phil Lewis, president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists, wrote Thursday for The Root.

“So when an arbitrator ordered this week that Karen Attiah, the former global opinion editor for the Washington Post and the newspaper’s last full-time Black woman opinion writer, should be rehired after she was fired over her social media posts about the assassination of conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk, it was a victory not only for Attiah, but for everyone fighting for diversity in newsrooms.

“Black journalists understand, perhaps better than anyone, why it matters who gets to tell our stories. This decision matters because editors like Attiah help ensure our stories are assigned, produced, reported on and published.

“Only a handful of Black men, like Leroy Chapman Jr. at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Andale Gross at the Kansas City Star, are leading large daily newspapers. Monica Richardson is the senior vice president of USA TODAY. Shawna Thomas and Averi Harper are political directors at MS NOW and ABC News, respectively. But there are no Black men or women serving as the top editor or news executive at any major national newsroom, a stark difference from the height of the so-called racial reckoning of the early 2020s.

“And that difference is palpable. . . .”

Separately, the D.C. professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists noted Wednesday that Attiah was its 2026 Distinguished Service Award winner and said, “A free press depends on protecting journalists’ ability to do their work and speak openly without fear of arbitrary retaliation.”

• Jem Bartholomew, Columbia Journalism Review: ‘Talked About More, but Described Less’ (Aug. 19)

• Uyiosa Elegon, Columbia Journalism Review: Walking Targets: Movement journalism has been a source of hope. But political attacks and funders’ retrenchment have put it at serious risk. (Aug. 19)

• Stacey Patton, Ph.D.: Substack: Is Karen Attiah’s Win A Victory For Black Journalism?

BET Launches ‘Community Reporting Initiative’

“Following the launch of a reimagined, video-first BET.com, BET Digital today announced the launch of its Community Reporting Initiative, a national program designed to create new opportunities for multimedia journalists to report important and meaningful stories across the United States,” the network announced Aug. 19.

“The initiative will recruit local journalists to produce original video and multimedia reporting that highlights the people, issues, and cultural movements impacting their communities. Through on-the-ground coverage, the program aims to amplify voices, perspectives, and stories increasingly missing from traditional national media coverage.

“The BET Community Reporting Initiative builds on BET’s newly reimagined approach to BET.com and BET News. Moving beyond the traditional standalone-publisher model, BET.com now serves as a video-first experience that connects audiences to BET content wherever it lives, including YouTube, social platforms, Paramount+ and BET. The initiative is also an extension of the BET Creator Studio, BET’s digital-first platform that gives creators the infrastructure and distribution power of the BET brand, now applied to journalism. Interested journalists can apply at www.betcreatorstudio.com. . . .

“Yesha Callahan (pictured, above), Head of Editorial for BET Digital, developed the program with Jason Samuels (pictured, below), an NYU professor and broadcast news veteran who serves as a consultant for BET News.” Other participating journalists are Fallon Brannon, Brandi Hunter, Larry Spruill Jr., Bre Teamer, Sydney Bellamy, Jonathan Giles and Sabinna Pierre.

• Nellie Andreeva, Deadline: BET+ To Be Folded Into Paramount+ As Tyler Perry’s Stake Is Acquired By Paramount (March 13)

• Shelby Stewart, Essence: Louis Carr Knows The Power Of The Black Consumer. Now, He’s Betting BET’s Future On It

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Trafalgar Square Aug. 18 to pay tribute to the late University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday. (Credit: The Guardian/YouTube)

700 Academics Back Accuser of Tormented Black Prof

More than 700 academics have signed an open letter calling on Ghent University in Belgium to protect from punishment Nathan Cofnas, the postdoctoral researcher and self-described “race realist” who accused the late Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarizing parts of his Ph.D. thesis, Emma Whitford reported Tuesday for Inside Higher Ed.

Confas “is known for work suggesting that Black people are genetically predisposed to be less intelligent than white people,” as Leo Sands reported Aug. 20 for the New York Times.

“Last month, he wrote about Dr. Arday, who was Black, in a newsletter, accusing him of plagiarism in his doctoral dissertation. The post ignited a public firestorm that dominated British newspaper headlines and prompted new allegations that he had fabricated parts of his life story. Dr. Arday resigned his position at Cambridge early this month, and last week was found dead.”

“His death is catalysing an important conversation in the UK and beyond about representation, race and professional gatekeeping, as South Africa’s Daily  Maverick put it. Not to mention accusations of excessive and racist media coverage.

“Jason Arday Faced 30 Stories in 12 Days from 15 U.S. Media Outlets. A White Colleague Accused of More Serious Misconduct Faced None,” read a headline over a Aug piece by Ibram X. Kendi, the anti-racist author and editor of The Emancipator.

“In 2021, a former student of University of Cambridge history professor William O’Reilly accused him of plagiarism. The student noticed his prose comprised nearly half of O’Reilly’s article in the Journal of Austrian-American History published in 2018.

“O’Reilly claimed he ‘accidentally’ copied around 4,000 words from two essays by this student without any citation.

“In 2023, a university tribunal found O’Reilly had plagiarized his former student. The journal retracted the article, stating its information ‘was presented without credit.’ But the university tribunal seemingly believed O’Reilly’s explanation.” . . .

“In total, we found that the 15 U.S. media outlets published a total of at least 65 pieces about Arday between Aug. 3 and 9 a.m. on Aug. 18. Again, we found zero pieces in these U.S. outlets on his former colleague, William O’Reilly, who remains a professor at Cambridge.”

• Jafari Sinclaire Allen, the Nation: The Machine That Came for Jason Arday (Aug. 20)

• Kate Amistoso and Chandelis Duster, the Emancipator: Jason Arday’s Treatment Mirrors the Double Standard Pattern Black Journalists Know All Too Well (Aug. 20)

• Seher Asaf, Times Higher Education: University Suspends Academic Who Accused Jason Arday of Plagiarism (Aug. 21)

• Jem Bartholomew, Columbia Journalism Review: What’s the Matter with the British Press?: The coverage of Jason Arday highlighted profound problems with right-wing outlets. The country’s media crisis is still unfolding.

• Black Current News, U.K.: Jason Arday’s death sparks action (Aug. 22)

• Black Writers Guild: Professor Jason Arday (1985 – 2026)

• Herb Boyd, New York Amsterdam News: OP-ED: Dr. Jason Arday, a remarkable life cut short in midst of dubious accusations

• Sara Custer, Inside Higher Ed: The Jason Arday I Knew (Aug. 20)

• Eric Deggans, Substack: Jason Arday, Stephen A. and NABJ: How today’s toxic argument culture ruins everything (Aug. 19)

• Editorial, the Guardian: The Guardian view on Jason Arday: a tragedy that demands reflection

• Tyler Austin Harper, the Atlantic: The Truths That Failed Jason Arday (Aug. 15)

• Lauren Michele Jackson, the New Yorker: The Real Meaning of the Jason Arday Scandal (Aug. 19)
  

• Danica Kirka, Associated Press: Jason Arday’s death sparks UK debate over academic rigor, racism after media ‘frenzy’ (Aug. 19)

• Gazelle Mba, the Nation:  Oxford and Cambridge Have Always Been Racist (Aug. 22)

• Alecia Taylor, Capital B: Black Academics See Their Own Struggles in the Death of a British Professor (Aug. 21)

• Graeme Wood, the Atlantic: Jason Arday’s Final Self-Delusion (Aug. 18)

 

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Jose Suarez, Telemundo Exec, Dies in Kenya Copter Crash

​”The 55-year-old — who was president and general manager of Telemundo 31, Telemundo 49 and Telemundo Ft. Myers-Naples — was among the seven deceased following an aircraft incident at Mt. Ololokwe, that took place at about 9:13 AM​,” Flores wrote.

“The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority shared on X that the group left Loisaba to travel to Ewasonyiro on a Eurocopter, EC130 B4, operated by the charter service company Lady Lori Helicopters. Guests on board were said to be part of a luxury safari tour by travel agency andBeyond. . . .

“Over the course of his 20-plus years with NBCU Local and NBCU News Group, Suárez led stations in San Antonio, Sacramento, Fresno, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Earlier in his career — inspired by Cuban American journalist Jose Diaz-Balart — he served in programming, digital and creative leadership for Telemundo Station Group, NBC6 and Telemundo 51 in Miami. . . .

Some of Suárez’s colleagues took to social media to pay homage to the storyteller, including Elizabeth Chavolla, a bilingual multiplatform producer for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles, who uploaded a picture of the two on Instagram.

“I will always remember your kindness, professionalism, sense of humor and words of encouragement,” said Chavolla in an Instagram post. “You always knew how to make people smile, lift their spirits and remind them that everything was going to be okay.”

Short Takes

• Jason Joseph, an owner of the Kansas City Call, part of the Black press, said paper would not shut down, despite having missed an edition. “Three weeks ago, I nearly lost my life,” Joseph wrote. “I was hospitalized and am still recovering. The paper missed a week because the publisher nearly missed the rest of his life.”

• “The Associated Press will lay off 20 video production staff in the U.S. on Friday and move those jobs to a new hub in India, according to the union representing those journalists,” Angela Fu reported Au. 20 for the Poynter Institute. “An additional 10 photo editors in the U.S. and 10 video production staff in London are being targeted for layoffs, though it is unclear when their jobs would be terminated. . . . “

• “On the one-year anniversary of the Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Gaza that killed our colleagues, we remember their lives and once again call on the Israeli government to provide a full explanation of what happened,“ Julie Pace, Associated Press executive editor, and Alessandra Galloni, Reuters editor-in-chief, said in a joint statement Tuesday. “The strikes on Aug. 25, 2025, killed five journalists, including Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri; visual journalist Mariam Dagga, who worked for AP and other news organizations; and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist whose work had been published by Reuters. They were at the hospital in their professional capacity, doing critical work to keep the world informed. . . .”

  “CNN recently struck a new deal with Abby Phillip (pictured), anchor of the raucous 10 p.m. roundtable ‘NewsNight,’ that keeps all three of the anchors who host its primetime shows at the news giant for the foreseeable future, according to three people familiar with the matter,” Brian Steinberg reported Aug. 17 for Variety.

• “Months after the arrest of journalist Don Lemon, a federal judge in Minnesota will probe whether grounds exist to toss the Justice Department’s case against him,” Brandon Tensley and Dalila-Johari Paul reported Tuesday for Capital B. “On Aug. 18, Minnesota federal Judge Laura Provinzino issued an order demanding the Justice Department provide her with a wide swath of grand jury materials related to Lemon and his co-defendants, including presentations made by prosecutors and case agents, and the totality of communications prosecutors had with grand jurors resulting in their indictments, according to CNN.”

Ashland, Oregon, in 1920. Oregon Historical Society photo

• It was the early 1920s when members of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) created fear and havoc in Oregon through their 60-plus chapters throughout the state, including such Southern Oregon communities as Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass, Jacksonville, and Klamath Falls,” Lee Juilerat wrote Aug. 17 for Ahland.news in Oregon. ” ‘Oregon has some of this buried history,’ explained Steve Law, author of “Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920s Oregon,” in an interview. ‘We never talk about it much … Maybe we can learn from this.’  In his book, Law, a Portland resident, uses published and unpublished sources, new research, and interviews with scholars to provide a comprehensive account of how Oregon became one of the KKK’s strongest outposts. . . .”

• • “There was a time when a book could shake the world and on Aug. 17, 1976, a book titled ‘Roots: The Saga of an American Family’ by Alex Haley (pictured) arrived on bookstore shelves and immediately began to fly off those shelves and into apartments and homes across the country, starting a cultural rumble and sparking national conversations about race and slavery,”  Rick Kogan wrote Aug. 18 for the Chicago Tribune to commemorate the book’s 50th anniversary.. . . . The book spent 22 weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, was translated into more than 35 languages, began to find its way onto the reading lists in high school and college classrooms, and saw amateur genealogists pouring into libraries, county courthouses and dusty archives. . . .”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently presented media mogul and Urban One founder Cathy Hughes (pictured) with the key to the city. WRC-TV, the NBC owned and operated station in the nation’s capital, reported “News4’s Shawn Yancy spoke with Hughes, who built the largest Black-owned multimedia company in the nation.”

Fifty-six years ago Saturday, journalist Ruben Salazar (pictured) was killed while covering the National Chicano Moratorium March in East Los Angeles, reporting on the community he came from and knew best, says the Fallen Journalists Memorial project. “Salazar had left a prestigious career as a foreign correspondent to tell the stories of Mexican Americans in his own city, and his coverage gave the Chicano Movement a voice in mainstream media. Decades later, his legacy inspires the next generation of journalists to report fearlessly on the issues that hit closest to home.” Read more of his story here.

• “The Penlight Prize honors exemplary public-records-based news stories made available to readers free of charge with a $25,000 prize,” the Freedom of the Press Foundation announces. Articles must have been published on or after Sept. 1, 2025. Submissions are accepted until Tuesday, Sept. 1.