Kansas journalist fired for defending Stars & Stripes

Reporter's explanation that her job was to cover the military community — not any specific administration — did not sit well with Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense
Lara Korte of Colwich, Kansas, has had an esteemed career as a journalist, most recently reporting for Stars and Stripes, the United States’ military newspaper. She was fired on Friday. (Photo submitted by Lara Korte for the Kansas Reflector)
by Dion Lefler – Wichita Eagle
Published: August 27, 2026
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Reporter’s explanation that her job was to cover the military community — not any specific administration — did not sit well with Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense

I’m sure former Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth, now the secretary of defense, or war, or whatever, fancies himself an expert on journalism.

But the violence that his department did last week to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes is one of the best demonstrations I’ve ever seen of why it’s a mistake to put people in charge of a newspaper who aren’t qualified to throw them on people’s lawns.

Among the casualties of Hegseth’s ongoing war against truth is reporter Lara Korte, who cut her journalistic teeth here at The Wichita Eagle and later at our sister paper, the Kansas City Star.

Dion Lefler – Wichita Eagle

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