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

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 2 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-26.

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.[1][2]

- Country: [United States](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/us) (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)
- Where: United States
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Access bans
- Stage: Restrict (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/access_ban#stage-restrict)
- Head of government at the time: [George H. W. Bush](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/george-hw-bush)
- Issue of the day: The Panama pool was the first major test of the national media pool system the Pentagon created in April 1985 after journalists had been kept off the island during the 1983 invasion of Grenada.
- Outcome: Ongoing, 6 April 1990. President Bush told newspaper editors on April 6, 1990, that journalists who felt they had been denied access during the Panama pool should be given it once they arrived in the future.
- Era: The 1980s

## 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.[1][3][4][2][5][6][7]

## What reason was given

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.[3][4][5]

## Timeline

- 1989-12-20: United States: Pentagon press pool kept from the opening hours of the Panama invasion, December 1989

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [United States Department of Defense](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/us-department-of-defense) | implemented | Federal executive department |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [NBC News](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/nbc-news) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Blame Grenada!. https://www.rcfp.org/journals/the-news-media-and-the-law-fall-2001/blame-grenada/ (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001).
2. Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-and-question-and-answer-session-with-members-the-american-society-newspaper (The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06).

## Claims cited

[1] The Pentagon restricted the press pool from covering the start of the Panama invasion. Quote: "The Pentagon hemmed in reporters, keeping them from covering the first 48 hours of the fighting." Source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001. Blame Grenada!. https://www.rcfp.org/journals/the-news-media-and-the-law-fall-2001/blame-grenada/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/781, checked 2026-09-26.

[2] The national media pool was created in April 1985 to give journalists access during military operations. Quote: "The pool, created in April 1985, was designed to offer journalists access in unique military situations." Source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001. Blame Grenada!. https://www.rcfp.org/journals/the-news-media-and-the-law-fall-2001/blame-grenada/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/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. Quote: "Francis was so incensed that he had to watch the early moments of the fighting from a country club golf course three miles away." Source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001. Blame Grenada!. https://www.rcfp.org/journals/the-news-media-and-the-law-fall-2001/blame-grenada/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/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. Quote: "That still haunts the United States down there, because there were many civilians killed around Noriega’s headquarters, but the United States never acknowledged it" Source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001. Blame Grenada!. https://www.rcfp.org/journals/the-news-media-and-the-law-fall-2001/blame-grenada/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/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. Quote: "the experience of the press pool in Panama again proved that this arrangement for covering the early stages of a military action is not working" Source: The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06. Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-and-question-and-answer-session-with-members-the-american-society-newspaper Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/785, checked 2026-09-26.

[6] President Bush said constraints on press access were an ordinary part of a combat situation. Quote: "When you're involved in a combat situation, I don't need to tell people in this room there are constraints." Source: The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06. Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-and-question-and-answer-session-with-members-the-american-society-newspaper Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/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. Quote: "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." Source: The American Presidency Project, 1990-04-06. Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-and-question-and-answer-session-with-members-the-american-society-newspaper Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/787, checked 2026-09-26.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1989-us-panama-press-pool-restricted. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.