HONG KONG — A court in Shanghai sentenced a prominent former news executive on Thursday to four years in prison for extortion, Chinese state news media reported.

The court found that Shen Hao, the former chairman of 21st Century Media, had demanded advertising purchases from businesses in exchange for positive news articles, or for covering up damaging reports, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency. He was also convicted of embezzlement.

The scheme brought in more than $30 million, Xinhua reported last year.

A former vice president and chief financial officer of the news organization, Le Bing, was also convicted of embezzlement and was sentenced to a two-year suspended prison term, Xinhua reported. The news agency said additional rulings against other defendants were expected.

In September 2014, the Shanghai police arrested executives from the newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, its affiliated website and the staff members of a public relations firm. In subsequent confessions that were broadcast by China Central Television, the state broadcaster, journalists described how they would target companies that were preparing for public listings and were vulnerable to damaging reports. The employees of the public relations firm were accused of helping the journalists select companies for the scheme.