Journalists value credibility amid new media challenges

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Journalists value credibility amid new media challenges

(Xinhua) 09:00, November 08, 2013

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BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese journalists will observe their own annual festival on Friday in the face of challenges from new media and undermined credibility following a recent false reporting scandal.

Chinese Journalists' Day, which falls on Friday, is observed to underscore the public's respect for media staffers and the protection of their rights, though there is no exact holiday leave for media staff on the day.

News media, especially new media forms, such as the Twitter-like Weibo, have grown in popularity for their quick reporting of news events and bold exposure of dozens of corruption cases, which were later investigated over the past few years.

Yet, as some cases of blackmail and untrue or fabricated news reports have shown, press workers have faced challenges in sticking to professional ethics and seeking truth in the new era.

In the latest case, Chen Yongzhou, reporter for the New Express newspaper in southern Guangdong Province, was detained by police last month for allegedly taking bribes and writing unverified reports to defame a listed heavy machinery firm.

Chen's case hit headlines in Chinese media, with some outlets initially expressing support for him until he confessed to taking bribes to publish negative stories about the company.

In separate cases, two reporters were detained for blackmail or spreading rumors in the past three months.

"I felt Chen's case was quite dramatic. What I most want to say is that media staff need self-discipline," said Chu Xinyan, a politics news reporter with the Beijing News newspaper.

"The pressure of the media environment, with its not well-paid but tiring jobs, is not reason for Chinese journalists to lower their professional integrity," she told Xinhua on Thursday.

Chu, who has worked for the newspaper for eight years, said the job is not as easy as before and her pressure has grown year by year in the face of challenges from booming new media in China.

For journalists in traditional or new media, it is their common duty to produce faithful and readable stories, to seek the truth as much as they can, and make innovations in writing style, she said.

In October, a nationwide training program was launched for the country's 250,000 journalists to enhance their overall quality, according to the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The training program's courses include Marxist journalism tenets, professional ethics, rules and courses on preventing fabricated news reports.

"The main purpose of the training is to improve the professional quality of journalists so as to promote the sound development of the sector," said Sun Zhenhu, associate professor of Communication University of China in Beijing.

"It is necessary to carry out such training while strengthening surveillance, given the occurrence of irregularities in the press sector," said Lu Xiaotian, a media worker in Beijing.

Lu added that reflection is also needed as media outlets today find it difficult to recruit staff with journalistic ideals and devotion.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called on Chinese media to uphold truth and boycott fake and paid news while meeting journalists at the annual ceremony of the country's top journalism awards in Beijing on Thursday.

He urged Chinese journalists to adhere to social responsibilities, abide by professional ethics and give priority to the social effects of their reports.

Journalists in China face another big challenge in booming new media such as Weibo and Weixin (WeChat in English). Some major portal websites provide quick news stories, posing a threat to traditional newspapers.

Major Chinese mainstream media, including news agencies, TV stations and newspapers, are also making efforts to develop new media services in order to expand influence.

"Each industry needs innovation. Now it is time for innovation of the media," said Zhao Yijia, a senior journalist for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Zhao welcomed the emergence of new media. "The products of media should try to meet the demands of their clients and readers."

"I have no power, but just want to be a recorder of facts," said a journalist surnamed Pu who works for a daily newspaper in Beijing.