The employees of China's portal websites will not be granted
journalist's certificates and have no right to conduct news
interviews, said an official of the General Administration of Press
and Publication.
Commenting on a blackmail case in which a "website journalist"
extorted 3.8 million yuan (US$475,000) from a company by using an
illegal journalist's certificate, the official said only
newspapers, news agencies, radio and TV stations are authorized to
conduct news interviews in China.
A Beijing court sentenced Li Ling to four years in jail for
trying to extort money from a health products company. Li had
abused his position working for a website that handled consumer
complaints.
Reporters employed by websites owned by authorized news
organizations may apply for journalist's certificates, but other
website workers will not be certified, the official said.
Those websites and their employees who conduct illegal news
interviews in China will be punished according to law and
regulations, he added.
Over 700,000 people work for news organizations in China and
180,000 have been granted certificates by the General
Administration of Press and Publication.
Other cases of "reporters" blackmailing people without formal
certificates were reported earlier this year. In most cases, they
contacted companies with problems and asked for "silence money,"
threatening to print negative reports if not paid off.
China's press administration reviews reporters' conduct
annually, revoking the certificates of reporters who are
unethical.
(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2006)