CCTV suspends economic awards ceremony for first time

China Central Television's Economic Person of the Year awards ceremony, which has been held annually for the past 14 years, will not take place this year.

The Chinese portal website NetEase quoted an anonymous source from CCTV as confirming the news and hinting that the cancellation was a direct result of the government fight against media corruption, highlighted by the investigation of Guo Zhenxi, the former director of CCTV's finance and economics channel. However, another source at CCTV denied that the corruption case was the reason.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate announced on June 1 that Guo had been detained and was being investigated on suspicion of taking bribes. In addition, Rui Chenggang, a star anchor of business news for CCTV, was found to be running a public relations company with his family, with his interviewees comprising most of the company's clients.