New Chinese biz reporters barred from covering markets

Chinese business journalists must have either worked in securities and futures organizations or covered finance and economics for at least two years before they can report on securities and futures, with interns banned from reporting on such matters, according to a story in the Global Times, a Chinese paper.

Ji Beibei and Jin Jianyu write, “The regulations were issued to protect the legitimate interests of investors and the public, according to the GAPP statement, and urged print media to ‘exert caution’ when covering news that may undermine market stability.

“They urged media to verify the authenticity of important policies and information about regulatory bodies.

“Furthermore, the print media are asked to check whether advertisers are qualified securities and futures information service providers before accepting their advertisements for software and information service products.

“‘Misleading business reporting could cause huge losses to investors,’ Yu Guoming, a media expert at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times. ‘Raising the threshold for business reporters will help reduce the chances of journalists being involved in insider trading and improve the credibility of business coverage.'”

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