Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

What is one of <strong>the</strong> hottest concepts
among African journalists
today: Twittering, green reporting
or peace journalism? In fact, none
of <strong>the</strong>se. It is brown envelope.
From Maseru to Marrakech, Dar es
Salaam to Dakar, <strong>the</strong> brown envelope
is spreading like an Arab Spring in
newsrooms across <strong>the</strong> continent. In
Cameroon it is known as gombo, in
Ghana as soli, in Liberia as gatu, in
Nigeria as kola, in Ethiopia as buche,
in Tanzania as mshiko – and <strong>the</strong> list
goes on and on. These terms are all
local flavours of <strong>the</strong> brown envelope
<strong>the</strong>me. The concept is probably one
of <strong>the</strong> first to be adopted by young
reporters as <strong>the</strong>y join a media
organisation.
So what is a brown envelope? It is
essentially a discreet envelope with
cash; though not just any cash, but
‘cash for coverage’ (Ristow, 2010). It
constitutes a small monetary incentive
provided by a source or an event
organiser for journalists, typically
concealed as a contribution towards
transportation costs. Press organisations
unanimously condemn <strong>the</strong>
Section 3: Independence
Brown envelopes and professional
paradoxes in African journalism
By Terje S. Skjerdal
Terje S. Skjerdal (terje.skjerdal@
mediehogskolen.no) is associate
professor at Gimlekollen School of
Journalism and Communication,
Norway, and adjunct lecturer at
Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
practice because it jeopardises independent
reporting. At least 17
African codes of ethics now include
a warning against brown envelopes
(Skjerdal, 2010), testifying to <strong>the</strong> escalation
of <strong>the</strong> practice.
To illustrate <strong>the</strong> prevalence of
brown envelopes in <strong>the</strong> African
media environment, a mention of
<strong>the</strong> Press Freedom Seminar in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia on 3 May 2011 will
suffice. All local media organisations
of any significance were behind
<strong>the</strong> seminar, including UNESCO,
which served as sponsor and coorganiser.
The event also marked <strong>the</strong>
20th anniversary of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong>
<strong>Declaration</strong>, which is <strong>after</strong> all a
landmark of professional journalism
ideals on <strong>the</strong> African continent.
Then, at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> day, we
were all asked to queue up and sign
a sheet of paper in order to – yes
– receive <strong>the</strong> brown envelope. The
100 birr bill inside of <strong>the</strong> envelope
(USD 6) is no small money for an
Ethiopian journalist; it represents
up to 10% of <strong>the</strong> monthly salary of
a regular reporter.
“So what is a brown
envelope? It is
essentially a discreet
envelope with cash;
though not just any
cash, but ‘cash for
coverage’.”
It is a paradox that at a time when
journalism training programmes are
proliferating and media legislation
is being improved in a number of
African countries, dubious practices
Media in Africa - 2011 | 137