Envelope journalism (also envelopmental journalism,[1] red envelope journalism,[2] white envelope journalism,[2] Ch'ongi,[2] wartawan amplop[3]) is a colloquial term for the practice of bribing journalists for favorable media coverage.
The term seems to be most commonly used in Asia - the Philippines[1] Japan and Korea,[2] Indonesia.[3]
The term arose from the envelopes used to hold cash bribes, given ostensibly as tokens of appreciation for attending a press conference.[1]
More recently, the term ATM journalism has arisen, to indicate the change to electronic transfer of bribes to journalists' bank accounts.[1]