A total of 50 media organizations signed a self-discipline pact promising to uphold journalistic ethics on Tuesday in Beijing.
The pact was the brainchild of the China Alliance of Radio, Film and Television along with the Publishers Association of China.
The signatories pledged to "protect the leadership of the Party and the interests of the state and not to publish or spread any information that would undermine the image of either."
They promised to "be truthful, objective and impartial and not to cover news in exchange for profit or cover false news."
They promised to "deliver constructive messages and not to produce or spread harmful reports on the Internet or other media".
They also vowed to uphold healthy and tasteful styles, eschew vulgarity, produce quality work, denounce plagiarism and defamation, and not engage in illegal or immoral activities.
To make the pact effective, organizations must incorporate it into their chapters and members will include it in employment and cooperation contracts with other organizations.
Employees will face punishment should they violate the pact, in the form of warnings, demotion or dismissal. They might also be asked to apologize in public, miss out on awards or blacklisted from the industry.
