Jo Wadsworth
Jo Wadsworth combines leadership of Brighton and Hove News with frontline reporting across crime, council and community beats, with a distinct focus on how food and drink businesses fit into local life and politics. Her work on food is grounded in news values, treating restaurants, curry houses and hospitality operators as part of the civic and economic fabric rather than as lifestyle content.
Food and drink businesses in the civic spotlight
Wadsworth’s food coverage frequently situates hospitality stories within wider campaigns and policy debates.
In a piece on Brighton’s curry houses seeking council backing for a Curry Capital bid, she frames the restaurants collectively, focusing on their lobbying efforts and the official support they are trying to secure rather than individual dishes or reviews. Her feature on a Chinese restaurateur returning to The Lanes follows the same news-led approach, highlighting the business decision and its impact on a well-known area of the city.
The tone across these articles is straight, reportorial and detail-driven, with an emphasis on what is changing for the businesses and what it means for customers and the local high street.
Council decisions, infrastructure and public services
Alongside food, Wadsworth covers council and infrastructure stories that shape everyday life, often picking up issues at the point where official decisions meet public frustration. Recent work includes a report on new live information boards that passengers say are showing “ghost buses”, capturing both the technical problem and the commuter experience. She has covered changes to a nature reserve fence plan, focusing on the council’s explanation for pausing the scheme and the implications for the site. Another piece examines the decision to stop using Brighton Blue on restored seafront ironwork, treating colour choice and heritage as matters of public interest rather than niche design concerns.
These articles are concise and practical, spelling out what has happened, who is affected and how council communications are handling the issue.
Crime, courts and public safety
Wadsworth is a regular byline on crime and justice coverage, particularly within the 999 section of Brighton and Hove News. Her stories range from serious cases, such as a drive-by shooting outside a Hove pub in which a pair of defendants are found guilty, to reports on a council bin boss facing arson and burglary charges.
She documents investigations and enforcement activity in pieces on suspected loan sharks being arrested, court appearances following street brawls, and police appeals using CCTV after racist abuse on a bus. Other work includes coverage of sexual offending, such as a case where a rapist posed as a Brighton cab driver, reported in the same measured, factual style.
Across these articles she keeps the focus on charges, verdicts, locations and police or court statements, giving a clear record of events without comment or embellishment.
Editor’s role and long-running local press experience
Wadsworth serves as editor and director of Brighton and Hove News, combining senior newsroom responsibilities with regular reporting. Her background spans many years in local journalism, including work as a reporter, news editor and web editor in the local and regional press.
She describes herself as a highly versatile writer, a claim supported by the breadth of her archive, which covers breaking crime, council processes, transport problems, heritage stories and Arts and Culture content including Food and Drink. As editor she also manages the site’s accounts, website and social media, while continuing to write news and feature pieces, which contributes to a high volume of bylines across hard news and softer community stories.
Her long tenure at Brighton and Hove News means she often returns to recurring local themes over several years, giving her food and drink reporting context within a wider view of how the city’s streets, services and businesses are changing.
4 more food journalists.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What's On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose food and leisure coverage is built around immersive, first-person reporting and concrete detail. He works at the Manchester Evening News, focusing on new restaurant and bar openings, regular food reviews, gig and event coverage, and issues affecting LGBTQ+ people. He treats restaurants, pubs, bars and experiences as stories about place, people and community, explaining what makes a venue different and how it fits into the local dining scene. His pieces cover pricing, service, atmosphere, crowds and concept, and he is willing to be critical when gimmicks undermine the experience. He writes character-led pub profiles, works shifts, joins treasure hunts and attends major cultural events, inviting readers to follow what he does and use his straightforward assessments to decide where to eat, drink and spend time.
Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd
Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd is editor at Secret Manchester, where she treats food as part of how people live in the city, not as an isolated subject. She covers restaurants, bars, street food and casual dining, linking new openings and food trends to neighbourhood change, local businesses and everyday routines. Her pieces focus on accessible spots, comfort dishes like pizza and tacos, and clear details of menus, presentation, atmosphere and practical information such as opening hours and booking. She often combines food, drink and live events, producing guides to venues for major sports tournaments and themed pop-ups as part of wider things to do. Alice also reports on hospitality business pressures, city-centre public spaces, charity initiatives, transport and infrastructure, always showing how food and drink fit into community and lifestyle stories. She previously wrote for other regional “Secret” sites as a staff writer and describes herself as a writer and food fanatic.
Aly Walansky
Aly Walansky specializes in service-driven food coverage that treats cocktails and dining as tools for celebration, focusing on how logistics, ordering options, and menu choices turn everyday meals and major holidays into shared experiences. She is a longtime food and travel journalist now writing for Forbes, where her beat centers on cocktails and occasion-driven dining. Her work includes practical, expert-driven roundups such as guides to many variations on the classic martini, shipped-meals gift lists for Mother’s Day, and accessible formats for Thanksgiving and other holidays. She reports through structured lists, restaurant features, and menu-focused profiles that highlight signature dishes and dining trends. Across outlets, she extends this approach to home cooking, grocery shopping, and recipes, and runs a newsletter that shares her current assignments and industry commentary.
Amy Clarke
Amy Clarke stands out for turning food trends, sustainability and rising costs into practical guidance. She writes about changing tastes, new ingredients, formats and dining habits, as well as budget-friendly sustainable eating, nutrition, food shopping and the pressures extreme weather places on small food businesses. Her work includes forward-looking trend round-ups, advice on eating sustainably on a budget, cheaper alternatives to expensive superfoods and a report on how ice cream vans manage heat, logistics and profitability. She works as a multimedia reporter for News Shopper Series, with past work published in Sutton & Croydon Guardian, Yahoo News UK and The Conversation. Clarke combines reported features with clear explainers, expert voices and step-by-step advice. She uses plain language, specific examples and practical tips to show what food changes mean for readers and businesses.