LONDON (AP) — On the eve of a memorial service for Associated Press Television News cameraman Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora, killed on assignment in Sierra Leone, top news executives and field correspondents on Wednesday debated setting industry guidelines for covering violent conflicts.

War coverage can never be made into a safe enterprise, but better training and equipment and steps such as pool coverage of particularly dangerous events can help make the level of risk more acceptable, said participants in the panel discussion in London, sponsored by the U.S.-based Freedom Forum.

"The business we're in is inherently dangerous," said Chris Cramer, president of CNN International Networks and the event's keynote speaker. However, news organizations have a responsibility to set standards aimed at lessening the chances of death or injury to journalists working on the field, he said.

The event was arranged at the request of the family of Gil Moreno de Mora, 32, who died May 24 in a rebel ambush in Sierra Leone, along with Kurt Schork, 53, a veteran war correspondent for the Reuters news agency.

In an open letter released prior to the panel discussion, Gil Moreno de Mora's family expressed hope that the news industry would adopt universal standards, including mandatory safety training for those who take on hazardous assignments, appropriate insurance coverage and psychological counseling as necessary.

Competitive pressure sometimes drives journalists to take excessive chances in the field, participants acknowledged.

"Competition is at the heart of all the risks that are taken," said Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, who moderated the event. "It's not a question of wanting to get killed ... (Safety) is an onus on both of us — on journalists, but also on our companies."

"All journalists are competitive," said Nigel Baker, the head of news for APTN. But no story, he said, is worth a life or serious personal injury.

Some participants lauded the value of specialized hostile-environment training courses for those who accept dangerous assignments.

After Gil Moreno de Mora and Schork were killed in an initial fusillade of rebel gunfire, their surviving companions, South African cameraman Mark Chisolm and Greek photographer Yannis Behrakis, both of Reuters, hid in the undergrowth by the roadside, evading armed rebels who prowled only a few paces away.

"Training saved Mark Chisolm's life," asserted Reuters Television editor Rodney Pinder, another panelist.

But even the most seasoned and careful journalist faces the risk of death or injury in the chaos of a war zone, said panelist Jeremy Bowen, British Broadcasting Corp. Middle East correspondent.

On May 23, Bowen and his crew came under fire in south Lebanon as Israeli troops were withdrawing back across the border. A shell fired by an Israeli tank struck their car, killing Abed Takkoush, a driver and news aide for the BBC.

"It was a nightmare. It was the worst day of my life," said Bowen, who described seeing Takkoush lurch out of the car, on fire. "Training didn't help us that day in Lebanon. ... You have to remember you can get killed."

The memorial service for Gil Moreno de Mora was to take place Thursday evening at London's St. James Church.