Brown envelope journalism: The contradiction between ethical mindset and unethical practice
Media researchers have lately caught an interest in the prevalence of brown envelopes in African journalism, i.e. the phenomenon that media professionals occasionally receive gifts and monetary contributions from sources. That the practice is widespread is common knowledge among media professionals, supported by studies from around the continent. However, the journalists have a double attitude to the practice. While they may joke about it in the newsroom and take brown envelopes when they get the chance, at the same time they detest the practice and see it as a threat to good journalism.
This chapter takes a closer look at the paradox entailed in brown envelope journalism. Given that informal gratifications are so common in African journalism, one could assume that journalists would trivialize the practice and regard it as culturally acceptable, but that is not the case. Instead, they see it as a sign of unprofessionalism and ethical failure in African journalism. Referring to recent studies, this contribution reveals that the attitude among African journalists to receiving contributions from sources are not significantly different from the standard among journalists elsewhere on the globe. Thus, even if brown envelopes are prevalent in African journalism, the local journalistic mindset opposes the practice. On this basis, the contribution warns against ‘romanticizing’ brown envelope journalism as an expression of local journalism culture.
This chapter takes a closer look at the paradox entailed in brown envelope journalism. Given that informal gratifications are so common in African journalism, one could assume that journalists would trivialize the practice and regard it as culturally acceptable, but that is not the case. Instead, they see it as a sign of unprofessionalism and ethical failure in African journalism. Referring to recent studies, this contribution reveals that the attitude among African journalists to receiving contributions from sources are not significantly different from the standard among journalists elsewhere on the globe. Thus, even if brown envelopes are prevalent in African journalism, the local journalistic mindset opposes the practice. On this basis, the contribution warns against ‘romanticizing’ brown envelope journalism as an expression of local journalism culture.
Publisert i 2018
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