The Brown Elephant No One Is Talking About

Journalism, the fifth estate of the realm and the society’s watchdog has always thrived and esteemed itself on its guiding ethics of justice, fairness and integrity. This has always been the motivation for reading newspapers and sourcing information from them. It is simply given that once one gets to read the news from the papers, one has got the true and accurate account of whatever the news is — business, politics, sports, law, entertainment etc.

However, in recent times, the issue of giving journalists “Brown Envelopes” in order to get news published has plagued journalism. Has this practice always been there or certain factors are responsible for the practice and its subtle acceptance by all?

Although answers to the above question may not be absolute, some perceptive explanations may suffice.

Overtime the respect and dignity associated with this profession, the honour enjoyed by the owners of news platforms and the then low-income generating capacity of media houses tend to have led some of the proprietors of the news mediums to see themselves as benefactors to journalists who work on their platforms rather than as partners in the business of information dissemination. We always hear of the low wages of pen pushers, and print media proprietors who outright owe journalists in their employ salaries making them resort to the use of ‘what-I-can-offer’ as a means of financial sustenance. Sometimes, it is even spelt out by the proprietors — “Even if I do not pay you salaries, I’ve given you the platform you need.”

It is not important which way this menace came into being or the factors responsible for it, what is pertinent, is for journalists who have made “Brown Envelopes” a trend, to retrace their steps in this practice so they can do well that which they are known and revered for, and the society can once more have trust in them as its watchdog and pillar of truth.