Frustrated and embarrassed when a genealogical publication reprints something I wrote 15 years ago and didn’t even check to see about updates. Yes, my name was on the article in the current issue of Family Tree Magazine. My guide to Montana research was compiled and published in 2005. A fellow researcher who subscribes to the magazine called this to my attention. She had noticed some things were outdated. Yankee Publishing has acquired Family Tree Magazine from F+W Media and I would imagine this is not up to Yankee Publishing standards. Things change so quickly and 15 years means much needed to be updated. Basics in genealogy stay the same, but other things are changing almost by the hour. It’s not fair to subscribers of Family Tree Magazine either, as they may assume I am not up-to-date. My reputation and future income is at stake. Other authors are also finding that older articles they wrote are being republished in Family Tree Magazine. Some have them named as author and others omit the author name. No matter what our original contracts with FTM said, it’s not fun to see something we initially wrote being recycled without a disclaimer. as to who and when it was written. I am proud of my reputation in my chosen field and am sorry that subscribers are being fooled.
Yes, I have older blog posts and other articles that can be found online, but they are identified by date so that someone knows to search for updated information. I have articles in many older genealogical publications and have published books. All those clearly define when it was published. Some articles on the Family Tree website are attributed to FTM staff, but were written by many of my colleagues.
I hope Yankee Publishing clears up this mess and can assure paying subscribers of FTM that they are getting current information and that previous authors are not being embarrassed. I assume that Yankee Magazine is above such a mess. will let readers know if I hear from both FTM and Yankee Publishing.
Added: interesting quote from Dick Eastman’s 22 July 2019 Online Genealogy Newsletter: “Yankee Publishing has a great vision for Family Tree,” said Andrew Koch, editor of the magazine. “As part of YPI, we’ll continue bringing the best genealogy advice and resources to our readers so they can discover their ancestors and connect to their roots.”
© 2019, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.
Wow, sounds like someone needed a quick fill-in and just grabbed something. It would appear either someone couldn’t make a deadline or maybe had a legitimate reason for using the article (such as a death in the family) But what should have happened in my opinion was they should have asked a co-worker or their supervisor to fill in the gaps.