BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China has issued a set of regulations to ban disqualified columnists and inexperienced reporters from reporting on securities and futures, the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) said in a statement Friday.
Newspapers and publications are required to verify the credentials of organizations and columnists before publishing their commentaries and analyses on securities and futures, the regulations jointly issued by the GAPP and the China Securities Regulatory Commission say.
Journalists must have either worked in securities and futures organizations or covered finance and economics for at least two years before they report on securities and futures, according to the regulations that take effect Feb. 1.
Interns at media organizations are banned from reporting on securities and futures.
The regulations have been issued to protect the legitimate interests of investors and the public, according to the GAPP statement.
The regulations urge newspapers and publications to "take caution" when covering news that may undermine market stability.
They also urge newspapers and publications to verify the authenticity of important policies and information of regulatory bodies.
Furthermore, newspapers and publications are asked to check whether advertisers are qualified securities and futures information service providers before accepting their advertisements for software and information service products.
