In media ethics, brown envelope journalism (BEJ) is a term used to describe the practice of journalists accepting monetary or other incentives in exchange for favorable news coverage or the suppression of negative information.
[3] Additionally, the employment of part-time journalists, who may be more susceptible to engaging in brown envelope journalism due to financial pressures, is still a prevalent practice in the country.
[3] This highlights a systemic issue within the media industry in Kuwait, where part-time journalists are potentially more exposed to ethical compromises.
[3] The study also found a lack of proactive measures by editors and media supervisors in Kuwait to combat this form of journalism.
[6] While the true extent of BEJ practices worldwide is unknown, research literature has been concentrated in South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa in recent years.
[citation needed] In Tanzania, a significant proportion of journalists work on a freelance basis, earning less than the national average salary and making them more vulnerable to such unethical practices.
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.
Next's crusading stance on political issues and probe into the oil sector hurt its ad sales and paid salutatory praises on politicians.