Jay Edwards
Jay Edwards reports fast-moving local news for WRNJ Radio, with a through-line of turning official statements and local data into clear, practical updates on public safety, community life, and consumer issues, including how policy and product changes affect everyday food and drink. His work sits at the intersection of police reporting, institutional announcements, and day-to-day regulations that shape what residents can buy, attend, and rely on.
Police and public safety coverage
Edwards devotes a significant share of his reporting to crime and public safety incidents, often built around police accounts and court charges. He regularly covers road policing, such as a piece on a woman charged with driving while intoxicated after a single-vehicle crash on Valley Crest Road in Clinton Township, where he details the circumstances of the crash and the full list of traffic offenses filed by police.
He follows similar patterns in stories on a traffic stop that led to a shoplifting arrest in Morris County and another in which a man was arrested on an outstanding warrant after being stopped on Route 10, focusing on the stop, the investigation, and the resulting charges. His beat also includes larger-scale enforcement, illustrated by his report on $3.2 million in ecstasy seized at a Hunterdon County truck stop, where he highlights the quantity of drugs, the interstate context, and the arrest of a California man.
Across these pieces, Edwards’ distinguishing trait is the way he compresses complex incidents into brief, tightly structured accounts that foreground what happened, who was charged, and what authorities say, without commentary.
Community events and cultural institutions
Alongside police news, Edwards covers the cultural and civic institutions that shape the region’s public life. He writes frequently about author events and literary programming, including coverage of Warren Community College’s Visiting Authors Series hosting novelist Kate Brandes and poet Shawn R.
Jones, and a separate event featuring Brian Bradford. He highlights higher education’s role in the local arts scene through stories on Centenary University hosting Dan Armida for a book signing and author talk, and on a “Two Guys Against AI” podcast tied to the university, treating these as part of a broader pattern of campus-based public programming open to the community.
His reporting on libraries and civic leaders, such as a piece on Commissioner Soloway joining more than 300 attendees at a Hunterdon County Library author event, showcases turnout, speakers, and institutional support for reading and culture. Edwards also tracks recognition for regional figures and organizations, reporting on the New Jersey Hall of Fame’s class of inductees and Mars Incorporated’s induction into the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame class of 2025, connecting local audiences to national honors.
In these stories, he emphasizes dates, locations, and participation, making it easy for readers to understand what is happening in their cultural institutions and why it matters.
Health, infrastructure and consumer protection
Edwards’ coverage extends into health, infrastructure, and consumer protection, often through reports on advances or funding decisions that affect public services. In a story on St. Luke’s Heart and Vascular team being among the first in the region to perform a revolutionary transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement procedure, he draws out the significance of the new Edwards Lifesciences EVOQUE system and the hospital’s role in pioneering care.
He reports on environmental and infrastructure investments by covering grants for drinking water improvements, noting the amount of funding allocated and its purpose in upgrading water systems for residents. His interest in data-driven public interest issues appears in pieces like New Jersey ranking sixth nationally for lowest family violence during the Thanksgiving month, where he summarizes key findings from a national study and positions them in a local context.
Through these articles, Edwards treats health and infrastructure stories similarly to his crime coverage - concise, fact-focused, and grounded in official sources - but with an emphasis on long-term impacts for households and communities.
Food and everyday life in policy stories
Within this broader news remit, Edwards brings a distinct angle to food-related coverage by treating it as a matter of law, safety, and access rather than lifestyle.
In his reporting on a state bill that would allow the sale of alcohol-infused ice cream and frozen desserts, he explains how proposed legislation could change what products businesses may offer and how consumers can purchase them, framing the story around regulatory change and its everyday consequences. His social and on-air presence shows a similar focus on consumer safety, including coverage of a Consumer Product Safety Commission action recalling more than two million products, such as grill brushes, where he underscores the scope of the recall and the household items affected. He links food and drink to infrastructure in stories about drinking water improvements, treating safe water as part of the same continuum of basic consumption and public health he tracks in his food and product pieces.
Edwards also reports on recognition for major food-related brands like Mars Incorporated entering the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame, blending business and consumer angles by highlighting the company’s prominence and its connection to everyday products. Across these stories, his distinguishing feature is the way he consistently anchors food in policy, safety, and economic context, making his coverage useful for understanding how rules, recalls, and reputational shifts shape what people can eat, drink, and buy.
Edwards works on air and in the newsroom for WRNJ Radio, reflecting a long-standing interest in radio and live formats that parallels his written work. He promotes his stories through news-branded posts and reels, sharing pieces on crashes, recalls, accessibility guides, and other public-interest topics, which reinforces his role as a regular voice on breaking local news and practical updates.
His combination of incident reporting, institutional coverage, and consumer-focused stories gives him a broad but coherent news profile: he consistently follows how official decisions and events translate into concrete changes for residents, especially in the realms of safety, community programming, and everyday consumption.
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.