"pledged to secrecy"

Journalism  Astonishing story of how an Associated Press journalist was fired for doing his job, reporting the end of World War II against the wishes of censors who wanted to stage manage the release of information about Germany's surrender for political reasons:

"Kennedy was one of 17 reporters taken to witness the ceremony. He and the others were hastily assembled by military commanders, then pledged to secrecy by a US general while the group flew over France. As a condition of being allowed to see the surrender in person, the correspondents were barred from reporting what they had witnessed until authorised by allied headquarters.

"Initially, the journalists were told the news would be held up for only a few hours. But after the surrender was complete, the embargo was extended for 36 hours – until 3pm the following day.

"Kennedy was astounded."

Journalists still work within limits and embargoes. When Obama emerged in Afganistan the other day, it's unlikely that journalists didn't know in advance so that they could cover the story.  But it's now generally understood, I think, that there's a difference between protecting a head of state and protecting a story which is not only the biggest on the planet but also somewhat in the public domain.  Hence, AP's welcome apology.