A Chinese court has sentenced the former president of a major news organization to four years in prison after finding him guilty of extortion and fraud.
A Shanghai court on Thursday found that Shen Hao, president of 21st Century Media Ltd. and publisher of the business daily 21st Century Business Herald, was guilty of extortion, bribery, and misappropriation of funds.
State media said the court found that Shen demanded money from other businesses in exchange for reporting positive stories or covering up bad news.
Another newspaper executive, Le Bing, was handed a two-year suspended sentence for extortion.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been conducting a broad campaign against corruption, targeting the media industry among others.
