Beijing forms city's own media watchdog to run after 'immoral' journalists

The Beijing municipal government has set up a committee to crack down on “immoral” media practices after recent graft scandals resulted in the detention of top mainland journalists.

The media ethics commission – comprising newspaper executives and reporters, media academics and spokespeople of government departments – was formed to place “more emphasis on ethics in the media industry of the city”, the Beijing Times reported.

The commission, overseen by the municipal propaganda department, will supervise all employees from government-approved media outlets based in the capital.

Any malpractices, including false reporting, paid hack pieces and vulgar advertisements can be reported to the commission, the report said.

”Tightening supervision and self-regulation of the media industry is part of the central government’s efforts [to push forward the] rule of law and fight corruption … and to build a good media image to the public,” Zhai Huisheng, the Communist Party secretary of the China Journalists’ Association was quoted as saying during its first meeting yesterday, the Times reported.

The commission has also set up a hotline to receive tips on any media malpractices.