Jacqueline Smith, the former ombudsman for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes and the 2025 recipient of the Academy of New England Journalists’ prestigious Yankee Quill Award, has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, alleging she was fired in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit, filed June 25 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., contends that Smith was dismissed just 10 days after publishing an April 8 opinion column criticizing Pentagon officials for eliminating syndicated comics from Stars and Stripes and raising broader concerns about government interference with the newspaper’s editorial independence. Her three-year term as ombudsman, a congressionally mandated position created to safeguard the publication’s editorial independence, was scheduled to run through December 2026.
Smith is one of New England’s most respected journalists. Before becoming the first woman appointed ombudsman for Stars and Stripes in 2023, she spent more than four decades in Connecticut journalism. Her career included leadership positions with Hearst Connecticut Media Group, where she served as editorial page editor for The News-Times of Danbury and The Hour of Norwalk. Earlier in her career, she held reporting and editing positions at several Connecticut newspapers and has long been recognized as a champion of open government, freedom of information, and journalistic ethics. She was also inducted into the Connecticut Journalism Hall of Fame in 2024.
The Yankee Quill Award, presented annually by the Academy of New England Journalists in partnership with the New England Newspaper & Press Association, is the region’s highest honor in journalism. It recognizes individuals whose careers have demonstrated outstanding achievement, integrity, and significant contributions to journalism and the public’s right to know throughout New England.
In a statement provided to NENPA, Smith said she believes her dismissal was directly connected to her public defense of editorial independence.
“No reason was provided to me for why the Pentagon (Sean Parnell, the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs) fired me in April. But it was just 10 days after my column was published, in which I called out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the removal of eight pages of color comics in the weekend edition of Stars and Stripes, the newspaper for the military community.
“I saw this as an example of the Pentagon exerting control over Stripes’ content, which should be editorially independent, and within the context of increasing restrictions on mainstream media. The firing violated my First Amendment right to express my opinion, as I charge in the lawsuit. I felt I had to take a stand on principle and fight to uphold the First Amendment.”
The lawsuit seeks Smith’s reinstatement as ombudsman and contends that the Defense Department unlawfully retaliated against her for expressing views on matters central to her role: protecting the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes, the independent news organization serving the U.S. military community.
Smith’s lawsuit has drawn attention from journalism organizations and First Amendment advocates, who view the case as one with potentially significant implications for editorial independence and press freedom within government-funded news organizations.