Envelope journalism (also envelopmental journalism,[1] red envelope journalism,[2] white envelope journalism, Ch'ongi, wartawan amplop[3]) is a colloquial term for the practice of bribing corrupt journalists for favorable media coverage.
The term brown envelope journalism is common in English-speaking countries and African countries; other envelope colors are more commonly used in Asia, the Philippines, China, Korea, India, and Indonesia. In Republic of the Congo, it is just known as envelope journalism.[4]
The term arose from the envelopes used to hold cash bribes, given ostensibly as tokens of appreciation for attending a press conference.
More recently, the term ATM journalism has arisen, to indicate the change to electronic transfer of bribes to journalists' bank accounts.