Comment of the week: SWAG

2 Comments 22 September 2007

WendyB [of Wendy Brandes Jewelry ] said…

IMO, having been in journalism for more than a decade, it absolutely IS payment if you take a substantial gift(as opposed to, say, a lipstick for reviewing purposes). Because many blogs still exist in a grey area (is it journalism? humor? gossip?), I think it’s somewhat acceptable to have this kind of transaction as long as you disclose this. If you aspire to become a serious journalist or you don’t want your integrity to be questioned, it’s best not to take anything. I know certain mags take and take, but you’re blogging because you DON’T want to be like that, right? BTW, this only applies to blogs that are striving to provide legitimate fashion commentary and where the readers have a reasonable expectation of a forthright, uninfluenced opinion. My blog, unlike a lot of blogs here probably, exists to promote my work. It’s biased from the get-go.

September 17, 2007 6:06 PM

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Jennine Jacob

Jennine Jacob - who has written 339 posts on Independent Fashion Bloggers.

Jennine Jacob founded IFB in September 2007. She also founded, The Coveted, a personal style blog, and writes for eat, sleep, denim. Be a part of our community... Join IFB!

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2 Comments so far

WendyB says:

September 21, 2007 at 10:37 pm

Ack! *embarrassed*
mahret says:

September 24, 2007 at 12:04 am

I don’t think that “taking” is bad. Well I take and I’m happy if someone sends me something for review. But I don’t feel “pushed” to post something about it. If I like the product I write about it, if not, I don’t.