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Marine Corps Times pushed off newsstands

The Gannett-owned Marine Corps Times has lost its prominent newsstand spot at Marine base exchange stores worldwide, possibly due to its coverage of a scandal involving a Marine commandant, the newspaper reports.

The independent paper, which relies heavily on sales at bases, is normally located with the rest of the popular magazines near the checkout lines, but will now be moved elsewhere in the stores.

For the past year, the paper has been conducting an ongoing investigation into allegations that Marine commandant Gen. Jim Amos abused his authority when ordering punishment for Marines who urinated on Taliban corpses in 2012. The investigation began after a fellow general said Amos ordered him to "crush" the defendants in the case, an action that could qualify as "illegal interference."

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Spokesmen for Amos would not say is his staff played a role in the paper's relocation on newsstands, but the Times reports that "a source with knowledge of the new directive said it was approved with the commandant’s knowledge."

The move also follows a new guidance issued in October, which specifically prohibits Marine commands from using operations and maintenance funds for purchasing subscriptions to the Marine Corps Times.

“For any retailer to hide one of its best-selling products is just bad business. It obviously will hurt our newsstand sales, but it also hurts revenues to the Exchange,” Peter Lundquist, Military Times’ vice president and general manager told the Times. “But I’m told this isn’t about business. Marine Corps Times helps Marines and their families stay informed about their service and their livelihood. We believe our independence is an asset to Marines. By what standard is Marine Corps Times not professionally oriented reading material, and who is setting that standard for Marines?”

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Marine Corps officials said the move was done to "professionalize" the front area and because the Times was not consistent with the Marine Corps "brand."

A spokesman for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Col. Steve Warren, was asked about the Marine Corps’ decision at the Pentagon Monday morning. Warren said that the OSD press staff had seen the Marine Corps Times report. He did not respond to a question about whether Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had seen the story or whether Hagel approved of Marine officials’ decision to move the newspapers to the back of the base exchanges.

“We’ll let the Marine Corps speak about their decisions,” Warren said.

Philip Ewing contributed to this report.

Hadas Gold is a reporter at Politico.