Josie Howell
Josie Howell covers shopping-driven consumer culture with a focus on deals, streaming access and branded accessories for AL.com. Her work sits at the intersection of fashion, retail promotions and practical guides to new devices and services. She has worked in journalism since 2019.
Shopping and retail deals
Howell’s core output is service-focused coverage of sales and promotions at mainstream retailers, with headlines that foreground price, product and timing.
She regularly spotlights big-box chains such as Walmart and Academy Sports, detailing discounts on items like Pit Boss and Traeger pellet smokers and clearly stating how much readers save. Her piece on a TCL 55-inch Roku smart TV being cut to $198 at Walmart exemplifies her focus on accessible price points and value-driven framing.
She also explains retailer programs and logistics, breaking down Target’s Circle loyalty scheme and outlining Walmart’s holiday hours around Columbus Day so shoppers can plan store visits. Seasonal campaigns are a recurring hook: she has covered exclusive patriotic Owala FreeSip bottles released for July 4 as well as fall FreeSip designs in seven seasonal patterns, combining design details with availability information and where to buy them.
Across these stories she writes within an affiliate-commerce format, clearly situating her work in a context where product links can generate compensation while maintaining straightforward, informational tone.
Consumer tech, wearables and fitness
Beyond general retail, Howell tracks launches and upgrades in consumer technology and wearables, always tying feature explanations to purchase decisions. She has covered new Apple Watch hardware, including Series 12 and Ultra 4, focusing on preorder timing and model differences that matter at the checkout.
Her reporting on Garmin’s fēnix 9 highlights improvements such as a brighter display and faster mapping, while a separate piece on the Garmin Cirqa introduces a screenless fitness tracker positioned against established competitors like Whoop. She returns to health-focused devices with stories on the Oura Ring, including a rare $100 discount aligned with the unveiling of a newer generation, framing the promotion in terms of upgrade paths and savings. Audio and accessory tech also feature prominently: she has written about Sonos Ace Ultra headphones as a “major audio upgrade” and Dyson’s experimental toothbrush with a built-in camera, explaining why these launches stand out within crowded markets.
Her work extends into fitness access itself, with coverage of ClassPass promotions that let people try local classes free for a month, connecting digital services, physical activity and limited-time offers in the same practical register.
Streaming, TV and entertainment access
Streaming and broadcast access are a distinct thread in Howell’s beat, often treated as another form of consumer decision-making. She writes event-focused viewing guides such as her piece on the 2026 MTV VMAs, which explains how to watch the awards live for free and lays out the streaming options available on the night. These guides sit alongside her broader focus on streaming-related commerce noted in her author bio, positioning her as a bridge between entertainment coverage and the technical or subscription steps needed to actually watch the content.
The same clear, step-by-step style that appears in her shopping explainers carries over into these TV pieces, emphasizing platforms, timing and any promotional access that might reduce cost.
Fashion and lifestyle accessories
Within this commerce framework Howell carves out space for fashion and lifestyle accessories, treating them as both style statements and practical purchases. Her coverage of a Michael Kors $200 mini duffle crossbody purse being reduced to $100 fits her broader pattern of highlighting recognizable brands, exact price drops and the appeal of versatile everyday pieces.
She approaches branded drinkware like Owala FreeSip bottles in a similar way, describing seasonal or patriotic designs while grounding the story in where to buy them and how they fit into current trends in personal accessories.
Fitness trackers and health wearables, from Oura rings to Garmin devices, are framed not only as tech but as daily lifestyle objects, reinforcing the fashion-adjacent aspect of her beat even when the focus is on specifications and deals. Across these stories Howell’s tone remains concise and transactional, centering concrete details - brand names, model variants, discount amounts and availability - over commentary or opinion.
Taken together, Howell’s work is defined by disciplined, product-led service journalism that spans retail, consumer tech, streaming access and fashion-adjacent accessories. She consistently prioritizes clarity on price, promotion and how-to-watch or how-to-buy mechanics, making her coverage a practical reference point for anyone navigating mainstream shopping and entertainment options.
4 more fashion journalists.
Aaron Royce
Aaron Royce turns runway moments and celebrity event dressing into clear, wearable stories that show readers how trends move from the red carpet to real life. He is a fashion news writer at The Zoe Report, where he covers fashion, trends, celebrity style, and related news across the site. He also works in a fashion news editing role at The Daily Front Row, extending his reporting into the industry’s front row and party circuit. As a contributing and freelance journalist, he writes for fashion and lifestyle magazines including People, InStyle, Marie Claire, and other outlets, with a focus on shopping, beauty, and culture. His reporting centers on fashion’s visual language, celebrity influence, and shoppable outcomes across fashion, beauty, fragrance, jewelry, skincare, menswear, wellness, accessories, shoes, pop culture, and celebrity news.
Abigail Connolly
Abigail Connolly stands out for covering celebrity culture and fashion as a visual story about outfits, images, and online reaction. She writes for Yahoo and SheFinds, where she covers celebrity news, fashion, and related lifestyle topics. Her beat focuses on stars, royals, and political figures, with stories on red carpet looks, runway trends, state-visit wardrobes, and social media posts that shape public image. She has written about Oprah Winfrey’s all-white Cannes look, Paris Fashion Week fur, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Dior dress, Melania Trump’s style, and royal figures such as Queen Camilla and Prince William. Her reporting is short, tightly focused, and descriptive, using fan comments, captions, and sourced claims to show how a single look or post drives conversation online.
Aemilia Madden
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Air Mail
Batsheva Hay writes fashion and culture pieces for Air Mail with the sensibility of a working designer rather than a conventional style reporter. She is the founder of the cult label Batsheva, known for prairie dresses and vintage-inflected, modest silhouettes that rethink traditions of feminine dress. At Air Mail she sits inside style and lifestyle coverage, writing about fashion and shopping from the point of view of someone who designs the kinds of clothes she describes. Her background as a former lawyer shapes a structured, argumentative way of taking apart dress codes and conventions. She focuses on vintage clothing, modesty, subversion, and how old styles gain new meaning. In guides such as her Upper West Side piece, she treats locations as mood boards and supporting characters, using sensory detail and lived-in references to map the cultural influences behind her clothes and the world her label inhabits.