Upcoming Appearances
- Jan. 17. National Retail Federation, New York City. Moderating panel on trends in retail and marketing.
- Contact me to schedule a presentation.
- Jayne's Confident Consumer Column
- What smart buyers should know about time shares
- Time share fraud lands on law enforcement's radar
- Disconnects in the distracted-driving blame game
- Members of Congress want to know if Wal-Mart lobbied against anti-bribery law it may have violated
- Tesco's plans to expand are scaled back; British grocery chain Tesco, owner of Fresh & Easy markets, unveiled far less ambitious expansion plans
- Tesco's plans to expand are scaled back; British grocery chain Tesco, owner of Fresh & Easy markets, unveiled far less ambitious expansion plans
- Child-safety seat study passes only 21 of 98 vehicles tested
- Self-checkout lanes boost convenience, theft risk
- How to do really tricky product price comparisons
- How retailers study and test us to maximize profit
- Should Bumbo baby seat be recalled again?
- Some Ford owners to get touch-screen software fix soon
- States look at limiting or expanding what doctors can do
- How to buy diamonds and other fine jewelry with confidence
- Best Buy still faces customer service problems, experts say
- Plan ahead now for next season's holiday shopping
- States lax in regulating cosmetic surgery
- Confident Consumer: Santa do you wrong? Gift return tips
- Higher holiday sales come with caveat
- Ideeli flash-sale site sells high fashion for less
- Tips on picking out high-quality gifts
- Toys are getting safer, but injuries still alarming
- Shopping locally for gifts has benefits and limitations
- Not all toys are created equally safe
- Mobile apps can help you spend wisely
- Watch out for fake online reviews and review sites
- Tips for sorting out the deal on deals
- Toymaker to pay $1.3M in tainted toy case
- Pediatrics group says no to crib bumpers
- Car-safety group: Half of child booster seats pose risks
- Layaway makes a comeback, with fees and benefits
- Reebok settles FTC case over toning shoes for $25 million
- Missoni was just the latest target of 'retail scalpers'
- Study: Most parents fail child car safety seat test
- Cosmetic surgery gets cheaper, faster, scarier
- Some non-plastic-surgeons disciplined for disastrous results
- Non-surgical cosmetic options also have risks
- Cosmetic surgery gets cheaper, faster, scarier
- What to ask when picking a plastic or cosmetic surgeon
- Lack of training can be deadly in cosmetic surgery
- Jayne's Profile
More USA Today stories by Jayne ...
Jayne O'Donnell
USA Today Consumer Reporter and
Confident Consumer Columnist
Co-Author of GenBuy
In nearly 20 years at the country’s largest-circulation newspaper, Jayne has covered everything from airlines to children’s product safety to white collar crime. From sociopaths in the boardroom to teen drivers in the emergency room, her reporting has opened eyes and saved lives.
During 2011, Jayne launched the “Confident Consumer” column at USA TODAY. She also began to investigate the growing safety lapses in cosmetic surgery – a subject she continues to cover. Her two-part series in September 2011 chronicled the dangerous trend of doctors from other medical specialties branching into cosmetic surgery as their insurance reimbursements decline and took a hard look at the high-volume cosmetic surgery clinics where safety can take a back seat to profits. The sponsor of legislation to protect liposuction patients said the articles prompted the Florida House and Senate to enact the measure.
Jayne’s now-monthly column covers smart shopping, safety, fraud and other important news consumers can use to make informed spending decisions. During the holiday season, Confident Consumer runs weekly.
Her series and column are but the latest examples of hard-hitting consumer reporting that has been the hallmark of Jayne’s 18-year career at USA TODAY. During that time, Jayne has exposed many major auto and product safety hazards. These include articles on deadly teen crashes, the dangers of front and side air bags to children and companies failing to report safety defects in children’s products to the government. Her reporting on the mismatch between cars and light trucks in crashes led the auto industry to agree to important redesigns in 2005.
A Multimedia Presence
For the past several years, Jayne has also contributed parenting and automotive articles to women’s magazines including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day and Parents, as well as to the automotive website Edmunds.com. She is now a contributor to AutoWeek magazine and its consumer website, ShopAutoweek.com.
Jayne is also frequently interviewed. She has appeared on Good Morning America, Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. She also hosted Live! With Regis & Kelly (and formerly “Kathie Lee”) segments during the New York Auto Show for many years.
Award-Winning
Jayne has won several public service and journalism awards for her work alerting the public to auto safety hazards. They include Detroit Press Foundation first-place awards for her 2005 series on teen driving and, in 1997, for exposing the dangers air bags posed to children. Her reporting on air bags in the late 1990s is widely credited with prompting the government’s actions to make them safer, including the "smart" air bags and warning labels now in every new vehicle. In August 2005, the Governors Highway Safety Association made Jayne the first journalist to ever win its "Chairman’s Award," which was presented for her "dedication to improving highway safety" with articles on teen driving, seat belt usage and other issues.
Book Co-Author
Jayne’s first book, Gen Buy: How Tweens, Teens and 20-somethings are Revolutionizing Retail combined a few of her favorite subjects: Cars, clothes and the often-confounding qualities that make young people tick. Gen BuY takes a lively but serious look at the forces that drive young consumers to buy, while digging deep into the whys.
Publisher’s Weekly called the book, published in September 2009, “a must-read for all who hope to keep their companies relevant and viable.” Zappos recently added the book to the collection for its upcoming museum.
Vroom-Vroom!
Along with keeping a close eye on consumer affairs, Jayne stays current on automotive developments. She has evaluated at least one car or truck every week for more than 20 years. She is a graduate of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving and the Skip Barber racing school and has been a juror for the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards since they were first presented in 1994.
Jayne is a graduate of University of Maryland’s College of Journalism and did graduate work at George Washington University’s School of Business. She lives in McLean, Virginia.