New York ? With the Iraq war in its third week, 95 percent of Americans say they are following news coverage closely and 61 percent generally approve of the way the media are covering the conflict, according to the Los Angeles Times Poll.

In a sign of changing times, nearly 70 percent say they are getting most of their information about the war from all-news cable channels such as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. Only 18 percent indicated that they are relying on the traditional nightly network news broadcasts produced by ABC, CBS and NBC, the survey found.

Although most respondents said they didn’t agree with those who demonstrate against the war, 60 percent said it was all right for them to do so, according to the poll. More than one-third of the respondents, 36 percent, said they did not think people should be protesting.

Media coverage of the Iraq war has been controversial from the start, because of a Pentagon-sponsored program in which more than 600 journalists are accompanying U.S. military forces. Under the so-called embedding program, reporters are able to transmit stories soon after events occur in the field, but they must not communicate their military unit’s precise location or plans until they get the green light from field commanders.

Some critics voiced fears that these reporters would find it difficult to remain objective about the soldiers they are covering. But after two weeks of war coverage, a majority do not share those concerns.