The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

United States: Pentagon press pool kept from the opening hours of the Panama invasion, December 1989

United StatesRSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

When United States forces invaded Panama on December 20, 1989, the Pentagon kept its national media pool of reporters away from the opening hours of the fighting. President George H.W. Bush later told newspaper editors the arrangement had again failed to get journalists to the action.12

What happened

United States forces invaded Panama on December 20, 1989, in an operation aimed at removing General Manuel Noriega from power. The Department of Defense activated its national media pool, a standing rotation of reporters created in April 1985 after journalists were excluded from the 1983 invasion of Grenada, but the Pentagon kept the pool away from the fighting for its opening hours. NBC News correspondent Fred Francis watched the early combat from a golf course three miles from the action rather than from the battlefield itself. Pooled reporters who reached Panama grew frustrated when Pentagon briefings described the fighting as over while Panamanians were still reporting gunfire by telephone, and journalist Peter Arnett later said the civilian death toll around Noriega's headquarters was never confirmed by the United States government. At an April 6, 1990 meeting with newspaper editors, a questioner told President George H.W. Bush that the Panama pool had again shown the arrangement for covering the opening of a military operation was not working. Bush said reporters who felt they had been denied access should be given it once they arrived.1342567

What reason was given

Stated justification

President Bush told the editors that constraints on press access were part of any combat situation, saying, "When you're involved in a combat situation, I don't need to tell people in this room there are constraints."6

What changed for reporting

NBC's Fred Francis watched the invasion's opening hours from a golf course three miles from the fighting, and journalist Peter Arnett later said the civilian toll around Noriega's headquarters was never acknowledged by the United States government.345

Timeline

1989

20 December 1989
United States: Pentagon press pool kept from the opening hours of the Panama invasion, December 1989

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
United States Department of DefenseimplementedFederal executive department

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
NBC Newsoutletaffected

Sources

  1. Blame Grenada!Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001, reporting. Source record
  2. Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper EditorsThe American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06, primary. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. The Pentagon restricted the press pool from covering the start of the Panama invasion.The Pentagon hemmed in reporters, keeping them from covering the first 48 hours of the fighting.Blame Grenada!, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001.Claim 781, checked 2026-09-26.
  2. The national media pool was created in April 1985 to give journalists access during military operations.The pool, created in April 1985, was designed to offer journalists access in unique military situations.Blame Grenada!, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001.Claim 784, checked 2026-09-26.
  3. NBC correspondent Fred Francis had to watch the invasion's early hours from a golf course rather than the battlefield.Francis was so incensed that he had to watch the early moments of the fighting from a country club golf course three miles away.Blame Grenada!, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001.Claim 782, checked 2026-09-26.
  4. Journalist Peter Arnett said the number of civilians killed around Noriega's headquarters was never confirmed by the United States government.That still haunts the United States down there, because there were many civilians killed around Noriega’s headquarters, but the United States never acknowledged itBlame Grenada!, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001.Claim 783, checked 2026-09-26.
  5. A newspaper editor told President Bush that the Panama press pool had again shown the arrangement for covering the start of a military operation did not work.the experience of the press pool in Panama again proved that this arrangement for covering the early stages of a military action is not workingRemarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06.Claim 785, checked 2026-09-26.
  6. President Bush said constraints on press access were an ordinary part of a combat situation.When you're involved in a combat situation, I don't need to tell people in this room there are constraints.Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06.Claim 786, checked 2026-09-26.
  7. President Bush said journalists who felt they had been denied access during the Panama pool should be given it once they reached the scene.for those who were in the press pool and felt that they weren't given access, we certainly ought to go the extra mile to see that they get access when they get there.Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06.Claim 787, checked 2026-09-26.