Is this a bribe?

Thinking about the movie Gasland. It documents several settlements where the gas companies paid people to be silent when their water was so bad you can set it on fire.  There are several scenes of folks turning their faucets into bunsen burners.

 I thought, why do those settlements always gag the recipients?  OK I know that answer.  The settlement keeps the victims from saying how much they were paid so the company could keep it quiet and not admit they had done anything to the water.

Here's my real question: why can a publicly traded company conceal it's finances like that?  You have a company paying people off and hiding the amount - it is a pretty sleazy practice but is it bribery?

EDIT:  I realize thoughts about Gasland were from The Colbert Report, the August 15, 2013 episode.  Check out the 'The Word' segment.