Last month, Bennett Haselton, the founder of Peacefire.org, a Web site that promotes open access on the Internet, got an e-mail message from a Los Angeles Times reporter who was writing an article about online censorship. The reporter was unable, from The Times's newsroom, to access Mr. Haselton's site, which also offers instructions on how to get around software installed to block Web site access.

To make sure the block was not a fluke, Mr. Haselton sent a query to other Times reporters to ask if they, too, had failed to reach Peacefire.org from their work computers. Some reported that they could not access Playboy.com or Penthouse.com.

"It just seemed odd that the class of people that we rely on for our information have less Internet freedom than a citizen in China," said Mr. Haselton, adding that this was the first time he had heard of blocking software at a newspaper. "We rely on reporters for our information of what's going on in society, and they can't necessarily do their job if a third party is deciding what they can see."

The reporter who initially contacted Mr. Haselton could not be reached for a comment. But David Garcia, the director of media relations for The Times, disputed the claim that reporters could not access Playboy.com.