Are journalists allowed to be pampered?

An invite in a wooden box laden with chocolates? I knew this was going to be a day full of delightful indulgences!

In a day designed exclusively to balance work, socialising, girl-time and me-time for the modern working woman, a cosmetics manufacturing company held a day-long pampering session to launch their new range of extensive face washes for female reporters and bloggers who write about beauty and lifestyle.

From an invite in a simple yet chic wooden box laden with chocolates, one knew this was going to be a day full of delightful indulgences.

Soon followed a personalised travel case replete with an entire range of beauty products. And then the actual day began with a personal pick up in a chauffeur-driven car and we were whisked away to a fancy restaurant for a sumptuous networking lunch with the rest of the company’s team and bloggers.

Despite how glorious it was to just have a lovely break in the middle of the work week, the lunch was a sobering experience, as many of us reporters realised how our role in the media’s landscape is changing.

Here we were amongst a group of young bloggers whom we had never met before, but were as relevant to this burgeoning field of journalism. These faceless and nameless individuals have an equally important position and voice in dictating and creating consumption patterns. And as fashion awareness increases, so does the consciousness towards associated industries such as beauty.

It was, therefore, heartening to see that international beauty brands are riding on the global wave of journalism and encouraging alternative voices in the media, in print and digital mediums, to come forth.

And while reporters are essentially documenting events, bloggers have the luxury of being opinionated and that creates an interesting dynamic at such media events these days where the old guard in the media intermingles with the new.

Do I as a reporter feel threatened? Well, yes and no.

Yes, because I know that my band of men are no longer the sole authority and voice that you all will turn to. But by the same token, it is only people like us, tied to an organisation, who will always have greater credibility and responsibility for we will always be subject to greater laws and policing by our organisation.

Still, journalism  today is a heady cocktail that often times becomes a cacophony and what will always keep the reporter in the line of fire is old school journalism; research.

Read more by Hani here, or follow her on Twitter @taha_hani