Chinese Reporters Fight Pay to Praise Plan

A leading state-run newspaper in China has scrapped a controversial appraisal system in which reporters would get paid more if they pleased the Communist Party's central propaganda department. The plan prompted a rebellion by the paper's reporters, one of whom posted an open letter condemning it on the Internet. The rebellion also prompted the resignation of the paper's chief commentator, who felt "ashamed" after writing a fawning article praising Chinese President Hu Jintao. (This sort of plan might have better chances these days at Time magazine in the United States, whose war correspondent James Lacey has been begging the government to take steps that would "give the appearance of a state-controlled media.")