Brown envelope journalism (BEJ) is a practice whereby monetary inducement is given to

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s to make them write a positive story or kill a negative story. The name is derived from cash inducements hidden in brown envelopes and given to journalists during press briefings.

Origins

The term "brown envelope" was first coined in 1994 after the cash-for-questions-affair, a political scandal in the

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. ''

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'' alleged that the owner of

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department store,

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

, had paid a

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in the

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to ask a question using a brown-colored envelope for the transaction.

Practice

Brown envelope journalism is regarded as a common practice in Nigeria. Prior to the 1990s, most news publications were government owned. The Babangida regime (1985–1993) saw a rise of media activism, opposing militarised democratization and struggle for independence. The early standing of journalism as noble resulted in a lack of law or regulations. One of the effects is that the Nigerian media has become a thriving arena for sponsored stories. Journalists in Nigeria perceive brown envelope journalism practice to be unethical, and media regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) apply a code of ethics to discourage the practice. While the true extent of BEJ practices worldwide is unknown, research literature has been concentrated in the South East and Asia and Eastern Europe regions, as well as Latin American and African regions in recent years. In 2010, the African Communication Research journal has received around 40 submissions of research articles centered around 10 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Forms

*Public relations (PR) – The practice of brown envelope journalism is sometimes described in Nigeria as PR or public relations by those who indulge in it. PR involves paying in advance for a newsworthy event to be reported by journalists. *Token of appreciation or for transport—this is monetary inducement given to journalists to gain undue favor under the guise that the

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

giver appreciates the time and mileage the journalist spent on a story. *''Kola'' refers to offering bribes to unethical journalists.

Causes

A cause of brown envelope journalism may be the poor remuneration of journalists. Many journalists' salaries are not paid on time and bosses sometimes justify this non-payment by telling their employees to use the media platform to earn money. There are instances whereby magazines owe employees six months' salary, even when paid, many journalists still earn less than $3 per day and graduate journalist earn as little as $200 monthly. It may be difficult for journalist who are hungry or have families to feed to live on the salaries alone and neglect taking brown envelopes. In 2015, the Nigeria Union of Journalists demonstrated against ''

This Day ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-in ...

'' newspapers after salary payments were delayed for nine months. A 2013 survey study of journalists' perception on the causes of Brown Envelope Syndrome (BES) practices in Nigeria indicate that 6% of journalists interview associate poor remuneration as a cause of (BES), while 2% indicated delay in salary payments. Another cause may be the influence of

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on the financial performance of media houses. Due to the revenues that accrue to media firms through advertisements, the media houses are well aware of the interest of advertisers and consider those interests in the packaging of sensitive news.

Dele Olojede Dele Olojede (born 1961) is a Nigerian journalist and former foreign editor for ''Newsday''. He is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his work covering the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. He serves on the board of EARTH University, in Costa ...

's ''Next'' newspapers stopped printing as a result of drop in revenues from advertisers. ''Next'' crusading stance on political issues and probe into the oil sector hurt its ad sales and paid salutatory praises on politicians. In some broadcast television stations, sponsored news programs can reach close to 50% of news stories.

Effects

The effect of this form of journalism is that there is a shift in journalism from being a fourth estate to a publicity seeking outlet available to the highest bidder; integrity, objectivity and balance is weakened as a result and news is commercialized. It also creates an avenue for publicity seeking journalists to write commentaries that is intended to address personalities and not sensitive issues. Hence the Nigerian media is weakened and inefficient and cannot function independently of politicians and businessmen.

References