NIGERIA SCORES: Individual scores: 1; 2; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 2 Total score: 13 Average score: 1.2 4.8 Salary levels and general working conditions for journalists and other media practitioners are adequate to discourage corruption. ANALYSIS: Working conditions and welfare of journalists in terms of salaries, allowances and benefits are generally poor, although there are variations between a relatively more institutionalised government media and the private sector where defaults on salaries for several months are common. In public media journalists enjoy the status of the civil service. In the private media journalists work so hard that they sometimes sleep in their offices; for little money. The entry level for a graduate in State media would be around Naira 25.000 (US $ 220), but even here it can go down to only Naira 8.000. When journalists from private media change into the corporate sector or banks they can double or quadruple their salaries. Consequently, corruption, known in Nigeria as ‘the brown envelope syndrome’, is prevalent and almost considered normal as survival strategy. Journalists have been known to die from illnesses because they could not afford the cost of medical treatment, a situation made worse by the failure of NUJ to negotiate better working conditions. African Media Barometer - Nigeria 2008 35