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‘Envelope journalism’ in KT?


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Written by Mustafa K Anuar
Saturday, 17 January 2009 10:23
http://mustafakanuar.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/envelope-journalism-in-kt/
January 17, 2009

‘Envelope journalism’ is a term, popularly used in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia, to refer to the unethical practice of bribing journalists in the form of money, gifts or the use of facilities to journalists in an attempt to seek favourable media coverage.It is rather very disturbing if such a practice did prevail in the run-up to the Kuala Terengganu by-election as reported below, and here too. Such an attempt is especially disconcerting when it was alleged that it occurred at the state information department’s media centre, something that would run counter to the claim made by the Information Minister last year that there was no such thing as ‘envelope journalism’ in Malaysia.Hat off to those journalists who were ethical enough to return the money that was offered to them.Perhaps the Information Ministry and others such as the National Union of Journalists may want to conduct an inquiry into this matter.Malaysiakini reports, among other things: Journalists given money
In another development, RM300 cash was distributed to more than a dozen journalists at the state information department’s media centre in Kuala Terengganu.
Journalists were asked to list their names, the organisation they worked for and telephone numbers on a blank piece of paper by a media centre staff before being given a white envelope containing six RM50 notes.
Four Malaysiakini journalists wrote their details on the paper without knowing about the money.
The four later returned the envelopes with a total of RM1,200 to the media centre staff. Several other journalists have done the same.
The media centre staff could not answer when quizzed about the source of the money.
At 6pm, two journalists from Chinese-language online news Merdeka Review lodged a police report on the matter at the Terengganu police headquarters.
Information Ministry denies role
Meanwhile, according to a Bernama report later in the day, the Information Ministry denied making any payment to journalists covering the by-election.
Information Minister’s press secretary Hisham Abdul Hamid said the ministry had never directed any of its officers to do such a thing.
“This has never been the practice of the Information Ministry,” he told Bernama.