A CITY government department said Thursday it would accept media supervision following criticism of its handling of a press conference that was open to only a few selected media organizations.
Rival Chinese-language newspapers had a rare united front earlier Thursday when they published stories and commentaries questioning the handling of the press conference organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Science, Industry, Trade and Information Technology Commission on March 17. The press conference was aimed at reassuring jittery residents of ample salt supply.
On the evening of March 16, Shenzhen residents rushed to buy salt following rumors that salt supplies would be limited due to the radiation leak at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. Shoppers emptied shelves in almost all stores across the city within hours.
To reassure residents of salt supplies, the commission called a meeting with the news media the following day. However, some reporters, including one from the Daily Sunshine, were asked by commission staff to leave, saying only reporters from invited media organizations were allowed.
The Daily Sunshine, which seldom criticizes government agencies, published a lengthy report of the incident and an editorial lambasting the commission. The editorial said cherry-picking media organizations for press conferences amounted to discrimination against readers of the newspapers who were not allowed in. This is an irresponsible act in handling an emergency, the editorial said.
The paper quoted Jeffrey Gu, a veteran journalism scholar and former editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Daily, as saying the government should release correct information through as many news organizations as possible when a rumor spreads. The commission s practice was inappropriate, irresponsible and could exacerbate the spread of false information, Gu told the paper.
The paper also published excerpts of microblog postings lamenting the practice.
But when feathers seemed to be settling, a commission official defended the practice at a phone-in radio program, only to trigger a new round of media criticism this time joined by more newspapers including the Daily Sunshine s archrival, Southern Metropolis Daily.
Li Zhongxiang, a senior official with the commission, said on the Shenzhen Radio program Tuesday that the meeting was not a formal press conference and selecting a few news organizations would ensure that the message was not misinterpreted.
Southern Metropolis Daily published two opinion pieces Thursday, saying the practice damaged the commission s credibility. Li said his commission thought it would be enough for the selected news organizations to send the message to the city s white-collar workers, what about blue-collar workers and other low-income earners? Did he mean other newspapers were read by poor people only? one opinion piece asked.(Roger Lin)
