Frances Watson
Frances Watson reports for the television newsroom of KY3, focusing on how local decisions shape everyday life, especially around business development and the way people eat and shop. She covers the intersection of city policy, commercial investment, and consumer experience, bringing a practical lens to stories that sit between government, commerce, and the regional food economy.
Civic decisions and commercial development
Watson’s recent coverage includes detailed reporting on city leaders weighing a multi-million dollar bond for a major company alongside a proposed hold on data centers, examining how those choices could affect future growth and local infrastructure. She tracks public meetings, proposed ordinances, and incentive packages, translating technical discussions into clear, accessible language for viewers. Her work in this area highlights not only the headline figures but also the downstream impact on land use, neighborhood businesses, and long-term economic priorities.
Food businesses and local consumers
Within the broader business beat, Watson spends significant time on stories about food-related enterprises and how they serve local residents. She follows openings and expansions of restaurants, grocery outlets, and other food retailers, looking at what they offer, where they locate, and how they respond to changing consumer habits. Her pieces regularly explore how new investment influences dining options, access to fresh food, and the mix of national chains and independent operators in the market.
Accountability in public spending
A recurring theme in Watson’s work is the scrutiny of how public money is allocated to private projects and infrastructure that support commercial activity. In her reporting on major bond proposals and similar packages, she breaks down costs, timelines, and obligations in straightforward terms, helping viewers understand who pays, who benefits, and what risks are involved. She returns to these stories over time, following up on approvals, delays, or changes in scope so audiences see both the decision and its results.
Service journalism for local viewers
Across these subjects, Watson’s reporting keeps a service-oriented focus. She consistently connects policy and business news to everyday questions for viewers: whether a development will change traffic patterns, make it easier to find certain foods, create or shift jobs, or alter the feel of commercial districts. Her work is built around concise explanations, clear framing of stakeholder positions, and an emphasis on what local residents can expect in practical terms from each decision.
4 more food journalists.
Aaron Guerrero
Aaron Guerrero is head of the digital department at Miami’s Community Newspapers, where he pairs restaurant coverage with community-facing content. He focuses on how Miami-area restaurants evolve, celebrate, and experiment through new concepts, menus, and neighborhood-focused dining experiences. He reports on restaurant openings, such as an Italian food hall at Plaza Coral Gables, new executive lunch menus, and wood-fired Latin steakhouse brunches, explaining what sets each venue apart. He also covers awards, like a Wine Spectator honor for an Italian chophouse, and events that turn dining rooms into social hubs. His bylines extend to features on sports-themed gatherings, civic renamings, local visits to restaurant programs, sponsored community pieces, and official notices. His work is straightforward and descriptive, helping readers and local businesses connect around specific openings, promotions, and dining experiences.
Aarron Fleming
Aarron Fleming reports on how courts, jails and public safety systems work over time. He is a reporter at The Daily Memphian covering public safety, the local court system, suburban news and business developments in North Mississippi. His work follows trials, sentencing, appeals, plea deals and judicial decisions, including major cases tied to Tyre Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also covers jail conditions, inmate deaths, crime data, prosecution units, trafficking, shootings and public-order incidents. His suburban reporting examines cannabis businesses, restaurant openings and how commercial growth affects communities such as Olive Branch. Fleming previously covered education in the same newsroom. He uses clear, unadorned prose to explain legal steps, deadlines, institutional problems and the political, commercial and community effects of public-safety decisions.
Alana Al-Hatlani
Alana Al-Hatlani is a food writer and editor who treats recipes, restaurants, and food features as ways to explore culture, community, and the business of eating. She works on the food team at Southern Living, overseeing and contributing to print recipes and reported features. Her pastry-focused, restaurant-tested perspective comes from time in restaurant and bakery kitchens. She helps plan and write monthly food packages, including “The South’s Most Treasured Desserts,” and wrote “8 Summer Recipes Our Editors Make Every Year.” She also writes recipe tips, ingredient explainers, restaurant guides, and reported stories about workers, owners, and communities. Her subjects include regional specialties, dining scenes, kitchen basics, and food industries. Her work has appeared with OpenTable and Yahoo. She reports on the ground, explains techniques clearly, and connects specific dishes and places to larger stories about food and livelihood.
Alana Edgin
Alana Edgin is a business reporter whose strongest focus is food, restaurants and consumer-facing businesses. She works at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and has also had work syndicated across AOL and Yahoo News. She covers new openings, closings, expansions and franchise growth, along with retail, health, services, corporate news, data incidents, business support programs and sponsorships. Her reporting includes detailed roundups of new restaurants and businesses, coverage of El Pollo Loco’s opening, and stories on burger trucks, dessert shops, Vietnamese sandwich restaurants and gourmet markets. She also contributes to food and drink reviews, including fall coffee and jerky comparisons. Edgin reports with practical “what, when, where” details, structured comparisons and clear explanations of how offers, partnerships and business changes affect consumers and the local economy.