SHANGHAI police detained the chief editor and other journalists at a well-read financial news website for allegedly blackmailing companies into paying for favorable coverage, one of the most high-profile cases yet of journalism for hire in China.

    Eight people, some from the 21st Century Business Herald’s website and others from two external public relations companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, have been taken into custody on suspicion of demanding money to slant their coverage of companies, most of which were planning initial public offerings, Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.

    The suspects also published false and malicious reports about “uncooperative companies” that refused to pay, Xinhua said. At least 10 companies in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou were blackmailed by the website since November 2013, it said.

    The website will cooperate with police on the probe, according to a statement on its verified microblog.

    The media company that runs the website also operates the 21st Century Business Herald, one of China’s leading financial and business newspapers. The website, launched in 2008, has been run independently of the newspaper since 2009, with its own financial operation and a largely separate editorial team.

    Still, Liu Dong, the head of the website who was detained in the probe, doubles as deputy chief editor of the newspaper. Liu is a veteran journalist with 20 years’ experience, the Caixin magazine reported.

    (SD-Agencies)