Beijing has appointed a former People's Daily deputy editor to head Shanghai's propaganda machine, a sign the Communist Party intends to tighten its grip on the commercial capital's media.
The personnel reshuffle comes after embarrassing stories involving a collapsed residential building and a botched police traffic sting became national talking points and provoked heavy public criticism of the city government.
Yang Zhenwu , 54, will replace Wang Zhongwei, who will become a deputy minister of the State Council Information Office, the People's Daily reported.
In June, an unfinished apartment block collapsed in Minhang district, killing one worker. The cause of the accident was incompetence by the construction company, and local media revealed that key shareholders in the firm had party connections.
Last month, the media revealed a scheme in which undercover officers in several districts posed as passengers to find unlicensed taxis, illegally collecting fines worth millions of yuan.
The scam came to light when one victim cut off his finger in protest at police behaviour.
Several reporters with Shanghai-based news media said they expected the new propaganda boss to strengthen censorship and set the tone for news reporting because Yang, as a senior editor with the People's Daily, the mainland's flagship newspaper, knew the party line well.