Journalists play an important role as the fourth pillar of democracy. So, journalists should be independent and separated from outside interference. This independence is not only applied to the relationship of journalists and the government, but also applied to the relationship of journalists and news sources such as higher education institutions. In obtaining the proclamation of higher education institutions, journalists often intersect with public relations practitioners who also perform the task of media relations to gain publicity. This study aims to determine how to deal with the envelope culture of journalists conducted by public relations practitioners of higher education institutions in Yogyakarta. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative using interviews and focus group discussions on five journalists from famous print media in Yogyakarta, namely Kompas, Tribun, Harian Jogja, Kedaulatan Rakyat and Radar Jogja. The results of this study show that a good relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners play an important role in preventing the envelope culture and also, public relations practitioners need to have an understanding of newsworthy issues. In addition, journalism ethics (KEJ) from the journalist associations can also be used as a strong reference in relation to the ban the envelope culture among journalists.