Edward Kennedy ( - November 29, 1963)^[1] was a journalist best known for being the first to report the German surrender at the end of World War II to Allied nations, getting the word out before an official announcement from Allied headquarters. This angered Allied commanders, who had imposed a news embargo until the official surrender announcement; the Associated Press fired Kennedy after this.^[2]

The surrender documents were signed on May 7, 1945, at 2:41 a.m. local time at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters at Reims, France. Eisenhower had embargoed the news until an official announcement was made. Kennedy, as the AP's Paris bureau chief, had been among a group of reporters hastily assembled aboard a C-47 aircraft, and only told they were to cover the signing once aloft.^[3] Once back in Paris, however, Kennedy made attempts to warn SHAEF personnel of his intent, but none of his fellow reporters.^[3] Despite wartime censorship, he phoned the AP bureau in London and reported the surrender. The story moved on the AP wire at 9:36 a.m. New York time, mid-afternoon in France.^{[citation needed]}

Official announcements varied from the German Count Lutz von Schwerin-Krosigk early May 7, to Winston Churchill on May 8, and Jozef Stalin on May 9 (accounting for the Soviet Victory Day). The formal cessation of hostilities was at 2301 hours on May 8.^[4]

Kennedy believed previous embargoes that he had respected were related to military security, but this one was simply political, because the Soviets were insisting on a formal signing ceremony in Berlin and the Allies had agreed to wait until that took place.^[3] Opinion on Kennedy's scoop was divided; supporters pointed to the freedom of the press, but the AP eventually apologized. SHAEF disaccredited Kennedy and he returned to New York.^[3] According to TIME magazine, the incident gave the press a black eye and "strengthened the censor's hand".^[3]

Kennedy's story was accurate, but he had violated the military's embargo. Both the military and other reporters were angry with him. His press credentials were revoked by the military, and the Associated Press fired him. Two days after The New York Times ran his story as the lead item, The Times wrote an editorial saying, Kennedy had committed a "grave disservice to the newspaper profession."^[5]

After the war Kennedy became the managing editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press,^[6] and three years later in 1949 he was hired by The Monterey Peninsula Herald as the associate editor. Kennedy was struck by a car on November 24, 1963, and died five days later.^[1]

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