Life of Guangzhou - Jiangmen City Prohibits Boozing While Reporting

A city in Guangdong Province recently said that reporters, editors and all other media workers are not allowed to consume alcohol during working hours.

The measure, which seeks to promote the "public image of media industry," is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

Authorities in Jiangmen announced the regulation along with support from the city's journalist federation. It said reporters, editors and TV hosts are barred from consuming alcohol during work hours, including lunch breaks and even when they are covering alcohol-soaked events.

Violators may be forced to wait for a job promotion if a violation leads to a serious problem. Additional penalties are possible but the regulation did not further elaborate.

Su Weicheng, a spokesman for the city, told the Global Times that they first considered the idea years ago.

He said drinking has become a problem for many professionals, including civil ser-vants.

"This is to ensure the seriousness of news reporting," Su said.

It was not clear what prompted officials to include media workers in the measure.

Su said a hotline would accept tips about tipsy reporters.

"To implement such a rule is only ideal because nobody would find out that you had a sip of wine when you are on a reporting assignment," a radio broadcaster surname Li said.

A reporter with Jiangmen Daily surnamed Xie told the Global Times that reporters routinely have dinner with sources or cover events where alcohol is freely available.

"We now have a legitimate reason to decline the booze," Xie said.

Reports of civil servants and officials involved with alcohol-related violations were not rare. Last month it was reported that Tai'an of Shandong Province outlawed all civil servants from drinking at work while Ji'nan, another city in the province, followed suit a month later by banning alcohol during lunches.

(By Zou Le)

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