Earlier this week, I blogged about a new article in All You magazine encouraging readers to purchase manufacturer coupons on Ebay.
Today, Coupons In The News spoke with the author of the All You article, and contrary to All You’s statement yesterday, it doesn’t seem that the All You article was “well-researched” at all:
“I definitely wasn’t trying to add fuel to the coupon fire, nor did I realize there was one!” the article’s author, Nicole Frehsee, told Coupons in the News. “I came across the tip in another magazine article and I thought it was interesting and fresh – I didn’t know that you could purchase coupons on eBay. As I was looking for tips that were a little under the radar, I included it.”
Frehsee is a freelance magazine writer who covers everything from travel and food, to entertainment and rock & roll. So you might forgive her for not realizing that her couponing tip is the subject of such controversy. But shouldn’t All You’s editors – who have been at this for more than ten years now – have known better?
Yes. The magazine absolutely should have known better, considering the majority of their advertisers also pay to publish coupons in their magazine.
Is All You still standing by yesterday’s statement that it is a source of “well-researched and trusted information?” Their writer admitted lifting this tip from “another magazine article!” Whether or not the author knew this was wrong, her article made it through editors, proofreaders, layout and publishers’ approval too. Not one of those people, all who work for a magazine known for its coupons, batted an eye?
Can All You honestly state that a freelancer without knowledge of the coupon industry, who got the idea to write about buying coupons on Ebay from another magazine she read, is providing “expert-proven tips” to All You’s readers? (Again — those are All You’s words from yesterday’s statement.)
All You still has not replied to my email inquiries. If you view All You’s Facebook wall, it seems other readers are waiting for a true apology too.
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