US military newspaper editor voices censorship fears after being fired

Even though partially funded by the Pentagon, Stars and Stripes has been editorially independent - through a congressional mandate and DoD rules.The newspaper's Middle East reporter Lara Korte said she had also been told she was fired.Both Slavin and Korte say their dismissals - both for insubordination - relate to an interview they gave to CBS's Sunday Morning programme last month, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.Stars and Stripes reported that publisher Max Lederer was also fired.He had announced his retirement on Tuesday, saying his understanding of the paper's value and mission differed in "fundamental ways" from the Pentagon's plans for the publication.Slavin, who has worked for the paper for 21 years, told the PM programme that he had not been given an official explanation for his dismissal - and was considering his response even though he was not allowed to appeal. He said he did not know if it had to do with his paper's original reporting of conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln - the warship which has been deployed in the Gulf for months as the US-Israeli war with Iran continues. The vessel has spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 da...