Media corruption is not an easy subject for journalistic investigation. In this unprecedented work, Chay Florentino Hofileña looks at the history of media corruption in the Philippines, probes corrupt practices in the 1990s and discovers how a free press can be bought. This study shows that compared to the past, media corruption in the post Marcos era is costlier, more pervasive and even more systemic. It is also disturbingly creative and difficult to detect. Transactions have become much more sophisticated and in some cases even institutionalized. The organized way in which corruption takes place -- through a network of journalists reporting to other journalists or to professional public relations of PR people -- makes it seem almost like the operation of a criminal syndicate, a mafia of corrupt practitioners. News for Sale takes a close look at journalistic corruption during the 1998 presidential elections. Its findings are shocking, but it also shows what efforts are being taken to address the problem. - Provided by the author