Says - implying that a person has said it many times and keep saying the same thing. Said - the person may have only said it once. The article probably used 'says' because more than one person may have asked her about the person who was a big part of her life'

You can say either way. If she says now about something that happened in the past then it should be like it is.

It's far more helpful if you give a link or proper quote. Is this the extract you read? "DEAR ABBY: My daughter has been divorced less than a year and is dating again. (She's the one who left the marriage.) However, she keeps many pictures of her ex-husband on her Facebook page. She says he was a big part of her life, and she refuses to take them down. She thinks if a guy can't accept it, then he isn't the right guy. Do you agree that she's sending the wrong message?" In this case, it must be "says". Look at the other verb tenses: has been divorced; is dating; keeps; refuses; thinks... these are all present tenses, and there's no indication of a jump to a past narrative (you need to indicate the time in the past, if you shift to the past). I realise that reported speech is introduced around pre-intermediate/intermediate level and you learn the rules for past tense and back-shifting, but there are other rules at advanced level which explain this usage quite clearly. "She says he was..." would either be reporting a general fact, or reporting the daughter's typical response when asked about the photos. In both cases you need present simple.

I agree with Tatiana. I will give you some examples in American English. Tatiana says that you can say it either way. Tatiana said that you can say it either way. Which is correct? Both are correct. *Tatiana is currently saying in this thread that you can say it either way. (SAYS) *Tatiana typed the comment, and now it is in the past - so Tatiana said that you can say it either way. (SAID) Your choice of words depends on how YOU are viewing the situation. I hope this was helpful! :)

I think it should be 'said" because the author wrote about something what happened.