The Marine Corps Times newspaper is getting shoved aside by the Marine Corps leadership, and editors wonder whether it's retaliation for coverage of legal issues.
In a new report, the paper explains that Marine Corps officials have ordered the newspaper to be "removed from its prominent newsstand location at base exchanges worldwide" and placed in more remote locations away from checkout lines.
The move, editors note, comes following extensive coverage of allegations that the Marine Corps commandant unduly influenced the disciplining of Marines caught in scandal. The paper, along with McClatchy, has also been covering allegations that tough talk by Gen. James Amos amounted to unlawful command influence in sexual assault cases.
Marine Corps officials told the paper that the moves to sideline the Marine Corps Times were part of an effort to professionalize the base exchanges. The paper's editors do not seem to buy this explanation.
The paper is part of the Military Times network, owned by media giant Gannett.