BEIJING - President Xi Jinping's inspection tour to three leading news providers on Friday was lauded by reporters, experts and students majoring in journalism.

President Xi Jinping meets with the editors and other staff in the newsroom at the headquarters of People's Daily newspaper. [Photo/Xinhua]

During a tour to the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television and at a symposium afterwards, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged the news outlets to follow the Party's leadership and focus on "positive reporting."

Journalists supported the president's instruction that the media should work to guide public opinion in the right direction.

Zhang Tie, a senior editorial writer at the People's Daily, told Xinhua that it is the responsibility of all the media run by the CPC to uphold and spread the "mainstream voice" of society, especially as society becomes more diversified and opinions vary.

The Party's will and its propositions should be the strongest voice of the times, he said.

According to Xi, the mission of the Party's media work is to provide guidance for the public, serve the country's overall interests, unite the general public, instill confidence and pool strength, tell right from wrong and connect China to the world.

Lu Shaoyang, head of Peking University's School of Journalism & Communication, said guidance does not mean rigid lecturing.

"A firm political stance and fine-tuned professional skills are required for today's media to exercise their duty," Lu said.

Ma Xiaorong, a young editor working on the Beijing Youth Daily's WeChat news account, said sensationalism should be avoided when reporting, especially when publishing on social networks.