Exam to be based on 700-page manual that prohibits published reports from featuring comments that go against party lineChinese journalists will have to pass a new ideology exam early next year to keep their press cards, in what reporters say is another example of the ruling Communist party's increasing control over the media under President Xi Jinping.It is the first time reporters have been required to take such a test en masse, state media have said. The exam will be based on a 700-page manual peppered with directives such as "it is absolutely not permitted for published reports to feature any comments that go against the party line", and "the relationship between the party and the news media is one of leader and the led".Some reporters say the impact of the increased control in the past year has been chilling. "The tightening is very obvious in newspapers that have an impact on public opinion," a journalist at a current affairs magazine said. "These days there are lots of things they aren't allowed to report."China has also intensified efforts to curb the work of foreign news organisations. The New York Times Company and Bloomberg News have not been given new journalist visas for more than a year after they published stories about the wealth of relatives of the former premier Wen Jiabao and Xi.On Thursday, China's foreign ministry granted Bloomberg journalists and some New York Times reporters press accreditation, allowing them to proceed with visa applications."We... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]