Bribes and Gifts at the Intersection of Professional Ethics and Social Reality

A Media Professional’s Dilemma

Abstract

Contemporary media practice has, since its evolution, faced a myriad of problems. The dimensions, magnitude and depth of these problems have engaged scholars from different backgrounds and orientations for decades. The nature of the profession itself gives whatever is related to it a cosmopolitan complexity that imposes upon it a cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary tenor. This paper examines the phenomenon of bribe or gift -taking vis a vis the social realities in human society as one of the major ethical challenges of media practice in modern times. It approaches ethics as practical normative activity aimed at solving problems, entrenching values and enabling human beings to co-exist peacefully as individuals and societies. Using content analysis as a tool of inquiry, the paper posits that given the media’s role in society, and considering its nature as a confluence of diverse orientations, the preponderance of the bribery and gift-taking as well as the narrow lines between them is a social challenge having its roots in the discourse on social injustice, personal and social integrity, communal cohesion as well as industrial and labour laws; and that media professionals can only be empowered to adequately distinguish and make pragmatic choices between bribes and gifts if the government and other stakeholders do not eliminate or subdue the socio-political and psychosocial currents that not only make corruption attractive, but also at times, coerce professionals into submission.