As readers of this blog know, Consumer Reports is one of our favorite publications. We love the fact that they don’t accept advertising — and thus are not influenced by the threats of sponsors they might criticize. It’s one reason we trust Consumer Reports — on issues ranging from choosing a car to buying prescription drugs from Canada — over virtually every other source of consumer information.
The Consumerist, meanwhile, is a great blog and, like Consumer Reports, has never been afraid to criticize the biggest companies in the world when they let their customers down. Unfortunately, one result of this is that it’s had trouble selling advertising at the rates its level of readership merits.
On Wednesday it was announced that Consumer Reports is buying The Consumerist — which sounds like a perfect fit for both parties. Consumer Reports will no longer accept advertising on The Consumerist site, so they don’t have to worry about that problem any more. And The Consumerist will (hopefully) introduce more young people to Consumer Reports’ subscriptions and paid offerings.
I’ve subscribed to Consumer Reports online for years, and I can tell you that the small subscription fee has paid for itself many times over by saving me money and (in some cases) major buyer’s remorse.
More details on the deal here.
Congrats to both parties. We’ll be reading!
