Strike over Beijing News takeover

Hundreds of Beijing News staff were striking Thursday on news of an editorial takeover by one of its parent publications, the South China Morning Post reported. It was the first strike on such a large scale in the mainland media, coming a day after news that chief editor Yang Bin would be sent back to his former job at the Southern Metropolis News in Guangzhou to be replaced by a number of deputies from the Guangming Daily. Strikers claimed the Guangming Daily was a party mouthpiece and the takeover meant the effective death of the outspoken paper.