President Xi's media tour draws positive feedback from reporters, journalism academia

President Xi Jinping's inspection tour to three leading news providers on Friday was lauded by reporters, experts and students majoring in journalism.

During a tour to the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television and at a symposium afterwards, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged the news outlets to follow the Party's leadership and focus on "positive reporting."

Journalists supported the president's instruction that the media should work to guide public opinion in the right direction.

Zhang Tie, a senior editorial writer at the People's Daily, told Xinhua that it is the responsibility of all the media run by the CPC to uphold and spread the "mainstream voice" of society, especially as society becomes more diversified and opinions vary.

The Party's will and its propositions should be the strongest voice of the times, he said.

According to Xi, the mission of the Party's media work is to provide guidance for the public, serve the country's overall interests, unite the general public, instill confidence and pool strength, tell right from wrong and connect China to the world.

Lu Shaoyang, head of Peking University's School of Journalism & Communication, said guidance does not mean rigid lecturing.

"A firm political stance and fine-tuned professional skills are required for today's media to exercise their duty," Lu said.

Ma Xiaorong, a young editor working on the Beijing Youth Daily's WeChat news account, said sensationalism should be avoided when reporting, especially when publishing on social networks.

"The core of news reporting is the people. Positive reporting should also focus on them," said Long Min, a reporter with the China News Service southeast China's Fujian Province branch.

Long said that reporters should profile ordinary people and their "true and touching deeds."

Positive reporting does not mean avoiding problems, said Tang Ji, a senior reporter with Xinhua's Inner Mongolia branch. Tang covered the wrongful conviction of an 18-year-old man named Huugjilt who was found guilty of rape and murder and executed in 1996. His reports contributed to the conviction being quashed.

As the president noted, public supervision and positive publicity are two compatible functions of media outlets, reporters should be good at finding and exposing problems and pushing society to improve, Tang said.

Reporters were inspired and encouraged by Xi's visit to the media outlets and his acknowledgement of their diligence. Endi