Thugs beat TV reporters
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A series of incidents involving mainland journalists being attacked or injured while reporting has been in the news recently.
The latest incident occurred two months ago when four men claiming to work for BaWang International, a herbal shampoo maker whose products have been alleged to contain toxic chemicals, attacked an editor and several journalists from the Shanghai-based National Business Daily.
Journalists who work in TV and broadcasting are more vulnerable while on the job.
In all, 57 percent of journalists say they have been verbally abused during interviews, and 34 percent were attacked, according to the Investigative Report on Media Workers in Television and Broadcasting Institutions, published in August.
Some experts think new legislation will help protect members of the media, while others say relative laws are in place but need to be strictly enforced.
Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times that "The coverage of sudden incidents and scandals are likely to arouse the resentment of those who have a personal stake in the matter, so that's why many reporters risk the threat of violence."
He called for a media law in China to protect the basic rights of reporters.
