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chequebook journalism

British  

noun

  1. the practice of securing exclusive rights to material for newspaper stories by paying a high price for it, regardless of any moral implications such as paying people to boast of criminal or morally reprehensible activities

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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There has been further criticism of the $5,000 the blog paid for the phone, an action that has been derided as chequebook journalism.

From The Guardian • May 3, 2010

The stories "that are up for submission for this award were done without chequebook journalism - the sources were not paid," says Mr Levine.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2010

The Guardian denounced "chequebook journalism" and thrashed Oldham health officials for allowing the Mail to control news from the hospital.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.