Military Agrees to Loosen War Coverage Curbs

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Thursday that it is near agreement with the media on new rules for getting news reports out of war zones, responding to complaints about restrictions on reporters during the Persian Gulf War.

Defense spokesman Pete Williams said the military has agreed to curb the use of pooled coverage and to prohibit escort officers from interfering in the reporting process. In addition, the Pentagon has agreed to provide journalists broad access to military units in combat and to drop barriers to journalists filing their own stories.

The proposed rules would commit the military to provide facilities to transmit news copy, photos and video in a timely manner.

The two sides did not agree on whether the military should retain the right to review news copy for security reasons.

News organizations said journalists would abide by security ground rules and that their performance in recent wars shows they can be trusted to act responsibly. But the Pentagon said the military must be able to review material to prevent “inadvertent inclusion in news reports of information that could endanger troop safety or the success of a mission.”