Patrick Beeson

I'm an online deal hound as are most people I know.

I never go out shopping until I've done a search to exhaust any possibility of paying full price for anything. Because more often than not, you can always find a coupon or discount to use in a physical store or online.

But like many 20-somethings, I don't subscribe to the local newspaper so I'm not exposed to the many print ads that could add to my cost-savings.

I do visit the local media's Web sites several times a day however. And yet I never turn to them for a shopping resource because they don't contain any value.

This isn't a Knoxville problem; it affects nearly every local media site I've ever visited.

For instance, take a look at the Web site for The Dallas Morning News. (I was in Dallas the past few days, which is why I'm using them as an example.)

Nearly every page I visit on this site has some form of advertising. Most of it is display advertising such as banner, tower or bigbox.

Yet none of the ads on dallasnews.com click through to a coupon or deal to save money locally. Sure there are a few cellphone company ads (T-Mobile and Verizon) that direct me to a particular phone or service package, but I can get those anywhere.

I had to seek out the tiny "shop" navigation option and traverse through several subsections to get at the coupons originally published in their print edition.

This issue is part of what's wrong with a lot of Internet advertising.

Why aren't newspapers treating ads like The Bargainist? I subscribe to the feed from The Bargainist and get a constantly updated stream of coupons and deals, most of which are for national chains and stores.

If you visit The Bargainist outside of the feed, the options are even better. You can drill down by category or by store. All posts are timestamped and tagged for easy browsing.

What if a newspaper site did something similar for local advertisers?

I realize the options might not be as plentiful here in Knoxville, but I would welcome a feed of coupons much like those distributed in the $10 "School Coupons" book sold by local school kids.

You could also get the public involved by letting them post their own local coupon discoveries.

It will take some training for advertisers, but newspapers are/should already be doing this in terms of online possibilities. But once you start giving people a reason to click on an ad, namely that of saving money, I think more will begin to do so.