Simone Jasper
Simone Jasper covers how people eat, explore and spend time, translating national rankings and trends into practical guides for local readers. She focuses on service journalism that points people to standout food, entertainment and wildlife experiences, often by surfacing “best-of” lists and unusual stories tied to the Carolinas.
Service-driven food and dining coverage
Jasper reports on food as part of a broader service beat, using rankings and reports to highlight notable restaurants and food businesses.
One of her recurring formats is explaining how national lists apply locally, such as identifying barbecue joints across North Carolina that rank among the nation’s best and spelling out what sets them apart. Her food stories are concise and geared toward utility, helping readers quickly understand where to go and why, whether the subject is barbecue, doughnuts or other popular comfort foods. She keeps the focus on clear takeaways rather than criticism, positioning her coverage as a guide for readers looking for places to visit.
Best-of lists and reader-facing guides
Best-of rankings are a central pillar of Jasper’s work at The News & Observer.
She routinely breaks down list-driven coverage - from top restaurants to leisure destinations - into direct, accessible service pieces. In these stories, she summarizes how the rankings were compiled, calls out the local entries and offers enough description for readers to decide if a place or experience fits their interests.
Her writing emphasizes brevity and clarity, aiming to answer common reader questions about where to go, what to expect and how a local spot compares to national peers. That same approach extends beyond food to coverage of entertainment and wildlife attractions, where she orients readers toward notable concerts, tours or outdoor experiences.
Wildlife, odd news and real-time local stories
Before joining The News & Observer’s service journalism team, Jasper worked on its real-time desk, and that background shows in her continued attention to wildlife and unusual local events. She has written about coyotes turning up in unexpected places, changing fall foliage conditions, and other quick-turn stories that blend curiosity with practical information. In these pieces, she favors straightforward language and a focus on what readers need to know now - where something happened, what officials have said, and how it affects everyday life.
Her tone stays neutral and factual, even when the subject is eye-catching or quirky, and she often uses these stories to point readers to safety guidance or planning tips.
Entertainment and pop culture with local angles
Jasper’s beat also includes entertainment coverage that connects movies, TV shows and concert tours to local audiences. She highlights when major tours or releases have specific ties to the area, turning national pop culture moments into locally grounded stories.
These articles mirror her food and wildlife work in structure: short, clear explanations of what is happening, who is involved and why it matters to local readers. She focuses on access and relevance - when a show is coming through, how people can see it, and what distinguishes it from other options on the calendar.
Across these subjects, her reporting is defined less by opinion and more by its usefulness to readers trying to make choices about how to spend their time.
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.