Pam Kragen
Pam Kragen is a culture and food journalist at The San Diego Union-Tribune, where she combines coverage of the local dining scene with deep reporting on theater and the arts. Her work is distinguished by a critic’s eye for creative work and a consistent focus on the people and institutions shaping the region’s cultural life, rather than treating food and entertainment as simple lifestyle topics. Alongside her food beat, she occupies a senior role in the arts and entertainment section and is a central voice in the area’s theater community.
Food coverage focused on local businesses and national recognition
On the food beat, Kragen’s reporting highlights individual establishments and how they fit into broader trends and rankings, such as her coverage of An’s Gelato being named one of the top ice cream shops in America by USA Today. She uses these stories to connect national attention with the local culinary landscape, showing how small businesses participate in and benefit from wider industry recognition. Her public bio underscores her interest in food, chocolate, coffee, and travel, reflecting an engagement with dining as an experience rather than just a commodity. This perspective gives her food coverage a narrative layer that goes beyond straightforward listings or announcements.
Theater reviews and performing arts reporting
Kragen is a longtime theater critic whose work ranges from reviews of individual productions to feature profiles of artists and creative teams. In her review of the Diversionary Theatre comedy “Latina,” she offers a clear critical judgment on where the production falls short, illustrating a willingness to evaluate work candidly rather than simply promote it. Her feature on theater creator David Israel Reynoso, “In Life and Art, Multitalented Theater Creator David Israel Reynoso Opens New Doors,” shows the other side of her arts reporting, spending time on an artist’s career, influences, and the thematic ambitions of his work. Across these pieces, she treats theater as a serious art form, combining plot and production details with thoughtful attention to craft and context.
Her theater coverage often situates individual shows within the ecosystem of regional companies and venues, helping readers understand how a particular production fits into the larger trajectory of local performing arts. This blend of review and reporting makes her essential for stories that involve new works, premieres, or artists whose careers bridge multiple theaters or disciplines.
Visual arts, galleries, and creative legacies
Beyond the stage, Kragen writes about visual arts and gallery exhibitions, bringing the same emphasis on individual artists and long-term creative practice. Her coverage of a James Hubbell exhibition at Santa Ysabel Art Gallery, for example, focuses on the artist’s body of work and the significance of the show, linking a specific display to Hubbell’s broader legacy in the region. She has also reported on figures from the comics and cartooning world, including coverage referenced by commentator R.C. Harvey about cartoonist Evans, demonstrating a willingness to explore different corners of the creative field.
These stories tend to frame exhibitions and retrospectives as part of a continuing narrative of regional art, explaining why a given show matters now and how it connects to decades of prior work. For communications around gallery openings, museum programs, or projects that draw on local artistic history, her interest in creative legacies and archives is a key distinguishing trait.
Role in the regional arts community
Kragen’s influence extends beyond individual articles into the broader theater and arts community. She is a member of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle and co-founded its Craig Noel Awards, which recognize excellence in local theater. In addition to her reporting and criticism, she holds a senior arts and entertainment editorial role at The San Diego Union-Tribune, giving her a central position in shaping how the masthead covers culture across disciplines. This dual role as editor and critic means she engages with the arts both as a curator of coverage and as a writer, making her especially attuned to developments that signal artistic growth or institutional change.
Her social bio highlights Disney, theater, food, chocolate, coffee, and travel as longstanding interests, mirroring the blend of topics she works on professionally. Taken together, her editorial responsibilities, award leadership, and day-to-day reporting position her as a key connector between artists, venues, and audiences. For stories that intersect food with performance, visual art, or broader cultural trends, Kragen’s track record shows she is drawn to pieces that offer both strong human stories and clear significance for the region’s creative community.
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.
Alice Mannette
Alice Mannette blends service journalism with narrative reporting about everyday life, using local food and gathering places to tell broader stories about community. She writes for the St. Cloud Times, focusing on practical guides to ice cream shops, wineries and other neighborhood businesses. Her coverage turns questions like where to eat and what to do this weekend into portraits of local entrepreneurs, weekend plans and the social life of her area. She reports food and drink as usable guides while tracing local history, culture and public safety. She also covers how people record their lives, writing features on diaries, family history and new books that examine archives and memory. Alongside this, she reports civic and public safety news and produces USA TODAY Network service pieces that compile clear, concrete resources for people dealing with storms and other emergencies.
Amanda Mactas
Amanda Mactas links food news, pop culture, and practical consumer advice, showing how brands, products, and personalities appear in everyday eating. She is an associate editor at Delish, reporting news and feature stories that span celebrity-driven launches, competitive eating, value-focused roundups, and taste tests. Her beat covers food culture, event-driven food deals, brand campaigns, product testing, grocery finds, and shopping guides, all with a clear service angle. She reports through specific products, personalities, and major sports days or holidays, using them to explain broader trends, marketing tactics, and consumer value. Beyond Delish, she works as a freelance writer and editor across food, travel, health, and lifestyle outlets, profiling founders, public markets, restaurant culture, wellness, and travel, and tying everyday eating to place, wellness, and routine in accessible, utility-focused prose.
Amelia Jones
Amelia Jones is a Fox 4 News reporter who makes major moments in Texas life feel close by centering ordinary people, often through food, fandom and everyday routines. She now reports across web, on-air and social video, keeping the camera and narrative on fans’ faces, crowd noise and local venues as she covers World Cup visitors trying Tex-Mex, FIFA fan festivals and standout supporters whose energy defines the stadium mood. She explains state legislative debates on issues like abortion pills in clear, practical terms, breaking down complex bills and legal analysis into real-world consequences. She reports on trials, crime, explosions and traumatic incidents through witnesses, victims and families, and spends time with small business owners and neighborhood groups in East Dallas. She joined Fox 4 News in 2023 and links daily life to the larger forces that shape Texas.