Book Review: Ed Kennedy’s War: V-E Day, Censorship, & the Associated Press, by Ed Kennedy (edited by Julia Kennedy Cochran)

Abstract

Ed Kennedy's War: V-E Day, Censorship, & Associated Press. Ed Kennedy (edited by Julia Kennedy Cochran). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2012. 248 pp. $34.95 hbk.This terse memoir of World War II (WWII) reporting gives students of journalism his- tory and ethics compelling material to ponder of most enduringly fraught relationships in news-that between journalists and military. Its central aim is to tackle a rarely told episode that was described in 1945 as either one of greatest [news beats] in newspaper or the most disgraceful, deliberate and unethical double-cross in history of journalism-Ed Kennedy's breaking news of Germany's surrender.The memoir is part of Louisiana State University Press series From Our Own Correspondent, which features books and memoirs by foreign correspondents. The bulk of book is Kennedy's previously unpublished 1950 memoir about covering Spanish Civil War and WWII's Western front for Associated Press (AP), edited by his daughter, Julia Kennedy Cochran. The short introduction, however, is a docu- ment in itself. Coauthored by series editor, John Maxwell Hamilton, and AP's former president and CEO, Tom Curley, it constitutes a vindication of Kennedy's deci- sion by same organization that rewarded his scoop by ending his career.As in all historical and ethical quandaries, simple story of what happened belies complexity of painfully high stakes involved. At 2:41 a.m. on May 7, 1945, Kennedy, AP's chief of Western Front staff, was of a few reporters to witness surrender in Reims-the official end of WWII in Europe. The reporters, however, had pledged not to publish news until U.S. military authorized it. About twelve hours later, everyone was still sitting on story when Kennedy heard a broadcast to German men and women speaking of unconditional capitulation of all fighting troops. Sure that broadcast had been authorized, Kennedy felt no lon- ger bound to his pledge, told so to an Army censor, and called in story to AP. V-E celebrations exploded across United States.Journalists and military in Europe were incensed, and AP leadership in New York recalled, condemned, and eventually quietly let Kennedy go. In book's introduction, Hamilton and Curley side with disgraced journalist, stating that in every way, Kennedy was right. They call news cooperative's decision not to defend him one of worst moments in AP history. In his memoir, Kennedy ada- mantly stands by his decision, and readers can make up their own mind-a classroom exercise that would benefit all professional journalism students who should be trained to face restrictions and even intimidation they will certainly encounter in their careers even if they never set foot in a conflict zone.Beyond illuminating that crucial and understudied episode in journalism history, this memoir's most valuable addition to literature is its focus on behind-the- scenes efforts of news managers to get stories published despite censorship at all levels, from military to editing desk. Plenty has been written on Hemingways and Ernie Pyles following G.I.s into battlefield, and Kennedy himself calls his three-week reporting from Anzio beachhead the most moving of my life. …