Rather than eulogize the virtues of journalists, the Chinese media carried out a thorough review of professional ethics to mark November 8, which was dubbed "Journalists' Day'' in China.

Several leading media units, including the Xinhua News Agency, the People's Daily and China Central Television issued a joint statement last week promising improved self-discipline and inviting public supervision on irregularities in their work.

The move is seen as an answer to the public's rising concerns over media corruption, such as journalists taking bribes and covering up the truth or producing irresponsible reports.

A prominent case in this regard is the cover-up of a gold mine explosion which killed 39 people in Shanxi Province last year, after the mine owner bribed some 11 reporters on the spot, including four from the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xinhua has later made details of the scandal available to the public, punished the four staff members involved and opened a telephone hotline to receive tips from informants.

In an editorial titled "Having a sense of shame is akin to courage'' on Friday's edition, the People's Daily said Xinhua's move is not only aimed at repairing its image, but also reflects a resolve to safeguard professional ethics and honour the media's special social responsibility in China.

It said scandals like this, although involving only a minority of media workers, have thrown the entire journalism industry into disrepute.

"The mine tragedy cover-up is a valuable alarm to everyone in journalism,'' the article said, adding that opening the media to public scrutiny will help improve both its professional standards as well as its credibility to the public.

Journalists in China are deemed as the public's eyes and ears to supervise powers and uncover social evils.

But with the disclosure of corruption cases among a few journalists, how to supervise these supervisors has become a thought-provoking issue.

"It is tantamount to self-destruction if the media pamper some reporters to extort money at the expense of authenticity and objectivity in their work,'' said Wang Jun, a professor of journalism from the Beijing Broadcasting Institute.

He attributed many media irregularities to weaknesses in the implementation of regulations governing media performance.

For example, although the rules requires a razor's edge between news reports and advertisements, some media often propagandize for businesses in news columns, which could mislead the public.

"These paid news pieces have tremendously bad influences on the readers' values and behaviour, and they contribute to the corruption of the social atmosphere,'' Wang said at a recent seminar on media discipline held by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Some argue that media irregularities have to be seen in an economic context.

"The core of the professional ethics issue is that some journalists trade news for economic gain by unjustified means,'' said Kan Jingxia, an expert of the All-China Journalists' Association.

Kan noted that many media units previously funded by the State have to seek financial sources by themselves, as the government has stopped giving direct subsidies in favour of implementing a market system.

How to strike a balance between professional standards and economic interests is a thorny issue members of the media will have to unravel, he said.

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