editors detained in extortion investigation

The editor in chief of the website of The 21st Century Business Herald, a daily newspaper based in the southern city of Guangzhou, and one of his deputies were targeted as part of the investigation, which was initiated by the Shanghai police, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

They are accused of collaborating with employees of two public relations firms to find prominent companies that were considering market listings, reorganizations or other significant moves. They would then charge hefty fees to produce overly positive coverage or bury bad news, Xinhua said. Dozens of businesses in Guangdong Province, Shanghai and Beijing were targeted, investigators told the state news service.

 State-run China Central Television aired footage late Wednesday of arrests related to the case. Police officers from Beijing and from Guangdong and Hunan Provinces joined the Shanghai police in carrying out the arrests, Xinhua said.

The 21st Century Business Herald said in a brief statement on its website that “a few” staff members had been taken away by the police on Wednesday evening and that the company was cooperating with the investigation.

The publication “will continue to uphold professionalism and objectivity to serve our subscribers, and deal with related matters in a responsible manner,” it said.

The 21st Century Business Herald was founded in 2001 as part of the Guangzhou-based Southern Media Group, which has built a reputation for pursuing aggressive journalism within the confines of China’s censorship system. It has a circulation of about 750,000 and started its affiliated website, 21cbh.com, in 2008.

Corruption in the Chinese news media, including subjects paying for puff pieces and reporters shaking down companies, has been a long-term problem. Journalists’ salaries tend to be low, and many companies are willing to offer bribes to ensure positive coverage.

In 2009, 10 journalists were charged with receiving bribes from the owners of a mine to cover up an accident that killed 34 miners and a rescue worker shortly before the Beijing Olympics in 2008. At corporate news conferences in China, reporters sometimes receive “red envelopes,” or cash payments, in exchange for producing uncritical stories.

The field has not escaped the scrutiny of the widespread anticorruption campaign begun by President Xi Jinping. In March, the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department called for a crackdown on fraudulent media practices, including the publication of false news. The campaign also targeted con artists who pose as reporters to extort companies and local governments.

Two CCTV department heads and a handful of other prominent members of the broadcaster’s staff, including the anchor Rui Chenggang, were detained this summer as part of an extensive corruption investigation.

In October, another Guangzhou newspaper issued a bold front-page call for the police to release one of its reporters, who had been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from a heavy equipment company to write a series of articles attacking a competitor. The publication, The New Express, received support from some other newspapers and civil society activists, who argued that a powerful company was using its clout to stifle critical coverage.

But within days, the reporter, Chen Yongzhou, was shown on state television confessing to filing false stories about Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Company, China’s second-largest heavy equipment maker. The newspaper later apologized.

Another New Express reporter, Liu Hu, was released on bail last month following nearly a year of detention by the Beijing police, after he was accused of defaming several local officials. His lawyer, Zhou Ze, told The South China Morning Post that he believed it was unlikely Mr. Liu would be prosecuted because the charges were groundless and his arrest was meant to thwart criticism.