Food Journalists - USA

As current contributor to Food & Wine and former test kitchen director at EatingWell, Killeen specializes in recipes that balance cultural authenticity with nutritional science. Her work serves as a bridge between academic research and home kitchens, particularly through:

• Cultural Recipe Development: Creating dishes that honor traditional ingredients while addressing modern dietary needs
• Seasonal Preservation: Techniques for extending local produce usability without nutrient loss
• Culinary Education: Making professional cooking methods accessible to home chefs

Pitching Priorities

• Authentic Ingredient Sourcing: Highlight partnerships with cultural experts or heritage producers
• Technical Process Breakdowns: Include step-by-step visual guides for complex techniques
• Nutritional Impact Data: Pair recipes with peer-reviewed studies on health outcomes

Recent career highlights include James Beard Award-nominated agricultural reporting and developing USDA-adopted recipe standardization protocols. Killeen maintains particular interest in stories exploring:

"How immigrant food traditions adapt to local ingredient availability while maintaining cultural significance."

Carla Lalli Music is an award-winning food writer and digital media strategist currently publishing through her Substack Food Processing. With 15+ years spanning Bon Appétit leadership and bestselling cookbooks, she specializes in:

• Home Cooking Education Recipes emphasizing technique mastery over rigid formulas, as seen in her James Beard Award-winning Where Cooking Begins.
• Creator Economy Analysis Transparent breakdowns of digital content production costs, notably her viral 2025 YouTube economics exposé.

Pitching Priorities

• Do Pitch: Kitchen tech under $150, newsletter monetization case studies, academic food research with practical applications
• Avoid: Restaurant openings, processed food trends, single-ingredient deep dives without technique applications

Recent Milestones:

• Launched podcast Worst Day of Your Life So Far (2024) exploring culinary mishaps
• Announced third cookbook focused on "minimum effort, maximum flavor" recipes (2026 release)

As EatingWell's lead nutrition expert, Williams transforms dietary science into practical kitchen strategies. Her work sits at the intersection of clinical research and home cooking, with recent focuses on:

• Neuro-nutrition: Developing recipes that support cognitive longevity through omega-3 optimization
• Metabolic meal engineering: Creating flavor-forward dishes that regulate blood sugar
• Pediatric nutrition: Solving picky eating through sensory-based nutrient delivery

Pitching Insights

Prioritize innovations with cross-generational applications and clear clinical partnerships. Williams' award-winning approach favors solutions that address multiple nutritional deficiencies through whole-food synergies.

"Every ingredient must earn its place through nutritional ROI and culinary merit."

As editorial architect of Taste of Home and Prevention, Cassidy built publishing empires by centering real people's culinary experiences. Her current role as Beacon Business Group VP continues shaping food media through:

• Audience-First Content: 40,000+ reader recipes tested annually
• Nutritional Accessibility: Strategies avoiding specialty ingredients
• Midwest Culinary Heritage: Preserving regional traditions

Pitching Priorities

Do

• Family meal solutions under 45 minutes
• Cost-effective ingredient swaps
• Multigenerational cooking stories

Avoid

• Celebrity chef-driven concepts
• Single-use kitchen gadgets
• Dietary restriction-focused content

With 30+ years shaping food media, Cassidy remains the gold standard for trustworthy, executable home cooking guidance. Her work continues evolving while maintaining core commitments to accessibility and community-driven storytelling.

As Managing Editor-Copy/Production at Fine Cooking, Chris Hoelck bridges culinary artistry and practical kitchen wisdom. With 25+ years at the magazine, he’s shaped its voice through:

• Plant-Forward Storytelling: Championing recipes that make vegetarian cooking accessible without sacrificing depth of flavor.
• Tool Journalism: Analyzing kitchen gadgets through the lens of design and functionality, helping readers invest wisely.

Pitching Insights

• Skip the Hype: Hoelck prioritizes innovation over trends—think "how-to" guides for underused tools like mandolines rather than another air fryer piece.
• Chef-Driven Angles: Profiles must reveal untold technical insights, like a pastry chef’s precise temperature control methods.

Dan Souza, Chief Content Officer at America’s Test Kitchen and Editor-in-Chief of Cook’s Illustrated, is a leading voice in evidence-based culinary journalism. With a career spanning 16 years at ATK, he has redefined food media by merging scientific rigor with accessible storytelling across magazines, TV, and digital platforms.

Coverage Focus

• Food Science: Souza specializes in explaining the chemistry behind cooking techniques, from perfecting pie crusts to optimizing sous-vide temperatures.
• Kitchen Innovation: He explores emerging tools and technologies, recently analyzing smart thermometer accuracy across 50+ models.
• Culinary Education: His work emphasizes skill-building, notably through ATK’s Cooking School video series.

Achievements

• Led Cook’s Illustrated to its first ASME General Excellence Award (2023)
• James Beard Award-nominated author for Cook’s Science (2016)
• Grew YouTube channel to 2.3M subscribers through What’s Eating Dan?

Pitching Guidance

Successful pitches to Souza often:

• Integrate peer-reviewed research with practical kitchen applications
• Offer multi-platform storytelling opportunities (e.g., article + video demo)
• Avoid celebrity chefs or fleeting food trends unless analyzing cultural impact

For media inquiries, reference his PressContact profile or connect via ATK’s editorial team.

Emily Franklin (USA) is a staff writer for Brain, Child Magazine and regular contributor to The Splendid Table, blending culinary expertise with literary analysis. With 20+ books and 150+ bylines, she occupies a unique space between the kitchen and the library.

Core Coverage Areas

• Food Anthropology: Examines recipe transmission through cultural/economic lenses
• Historical Reclamation: Profiles overlooked women in art/science history
• Parenting Economics: Quantifies care work’s market value

Pitching Insights

• Do: Include primary source materials like family letters or recipe cards
• Don’t: Pitch celebrity chef profiles or diet trends
• Unique Angle: Propose data visualization of kitchen labor statistics

Career Highlights

• 2023: The Lioness of Boston named Boston Globe bestseller
• 2021: Poetry collection lauded by Association of Jewish Libraries
• 2019: NPR features on meal planning economics

Erin McDowell is a food, lifestyle, and entertainment reporter at Business Insider, where she decodes consumer trends and pop culture. Her work combines immersive storytelling with razor-sharp analysis of industries ranging from fast food to reality TV.

Pitching Tips

• Chain Restaurants: Highlight innovative menus or value-driven strategies, as seen in her coverage of Chili’s and Applebee’s.
• Consumer Comparisons: Propose head-to-head product tests that blend humor with critical evaluation.
• Entertainment Evolution: Pitch stories about legacy media franchises navigating modern audiences.

Tim Carman is The Washington Post’s foremost analyst of food systems and agricultural economics, with a decade-long track record of investigating how policy, climate, and corporate practices shape what Americans eat. His work sits at the intersection of data journalism and human-centered storytelling, making complex supply chain issues accessible to mainstream audiences.

Pitching Insights

• Seeking: Policy impacts on food access, climate-tech innovations in farming, labor practices in production facilities
• Avoid: Celebrity chef profiles, restaurant trends, recipe-driven content

Career Highlights

“When we talk about ‘food security,’ we’re really talking about energy grids, labor laws, and international trade agreements—not just what’s stocked at supermarkets.”

• 2024 James Beard Award winner for exposing pesticide risks to farmworkers
• Led investigation triggering DOJ’s largest-ever price-fixing settlement in agriculture

Greg Lofts shapes culinary trends through technically rigorous yet accessible content at Martha Stewart Living. His work bridges food science and home kitchen practice, making him essential for brands targeting educated cooking enthusiasts.

Key Coverage Areas

• Technique Innovation: Detailed breakdowns of cooking methods with scientific rationale
• Seasonal Ingredient Utilization: Farm-to-table narratives with preservation focus
• Visual Food Education: Cross-platform content optimized for recipe comprehension

Pitching Considerations

• Do: Lead with data-rich technique demonstrations or historical culinary context
• Avoid: Commodity-focused pitches without skill-building components

“The best food journalism teaches through doing – every recipe should be a masterclass.”
– Greg Lofts, 2023 Culinary Keynote

As Eater’s restaurant editor and author of the Substack newsletter The New Family Table, Canavan specializes in:

• Culinary Translation: Adapting restaurant techniques for home cooks
• Institution Reporting: Profiling iconic eateries as cultural landmarks
• Media Ethics: Advocating for transparent food journalism

Pitching Insights

• Do Pitch: Chef-collaborative recipe hacks, neighborhood restaurant oral histories
• Avoid: Celebrity chef profiles, sponsored content opportunities

Recent recognition includes 2024 nominations from James Beard and IACP for her work bridging restaurant and home cooking cultures.

Hillary Eaton documents culinary innovation through the lenses of cultural preservation and economic justice. Her work for Food & Wine, Los Angeles Magazine, and Vice reveals how food businesses transform urban ecosystems.

Pitching Priorities

• Cultural Infrastructure: How immigrant kitchens preserve traditions while adapting to zoning laws
• Data-Driven Dining: Restaurant models demonstrating measurable community impact
• Labor Narratives: Chef stories emphasizing workforce development over personal drama

Achievements

• 2022 James Beard Media Award nominee for investigative street vendor series
• Cited in 3 California food policy reform bills
• Regular contributor to Columbia Journalism Review's food reporting analysis

As Wine Spectator’s senior editor since 2004, Molesworth operates at the intersection of viticulture and cultural anthropology. His 850+ scored tastings annually focus on:

• Legacy Brands Reinventing Themselves: Tracked Bryant Family Vineyard’s transition through three ownership groups while maintaining style continuity
• Climate-Driven Production Shifts: First critic to document Coombsville’s emergence as Napa’s “heat refuge” appellation
• Winemaker Migration Patterns: Mapped the “Derenoncourt Effect” of French consultants shaping Sonoma Pinot Noir

Pitching Insights

Successful outreach requires understanding Molesworth’s three criteria for coverage:

1. Historical Throughlines: How does your story connect to pre-1980s winemaking traditions?
2. Sensory Data Visualization: Can you provide spectral analysis of tannin polymerization rates?
3. Cross-Disciplinary Impact: How are your vineyard practices influencing architecture/land use policies?

Avoid pitches involving:

• Celebrity wine brands without established vineyard partnerships
• AI-driven fermentation tech lacking human sensory validation
• Non-wine alcoholic products

This Fast Company senior writer has become essential reading for understanding how subcultures shape mainstream business and policy. Based in Minneapolis but analyzing national trends, Berkowitz’s work falls into three key areas:

Core Coverage Areas

• Food Systems Innovation: Particularly artisan producers scaling sustainably
• Media/Politics Intersections: How internet culture reshapes governance
• Ritual & Play: Competitive hobbies as social barometers

Pitching Tips

• Data-Driven Absurdism: He excels at stories where hard metrics meet cultural surrealism (e.g., “NFTs for State Fair food tickets”)
• Avoid: Pure product launches without systemic implications

“The best stories hide societal X-rays inside Trojan horse humor.” —Berkowitz on his 2024 Poynter Fellowship lecture

As Executive Features Editor at Food & Wine, Kinsman elevates stories connecting culinary arts with mental health and cultural evolution. Her work spans:

• Core Beats:
  • Restaurant industry mental health
  • Culinary narrative journalism
  • Anxiety research applications
• Pitching Preferences:
  • Solutions-focused mental health programs
  • Cross-disciplinary food studies

"The stories we digest shape how we nourish ourselves and others." - Kinsman, 2024

Recent honors include the 2024 Craig Claiborne Distinguished Writing Award for her exploration of grief through baking traditions.

Kelly Dougher has emerged as Secret Seattle’s foremost chronicler of accessible urban culture, blending food journalism, beauty commentary, and event reporting into a cohesive exploration of contemporary Pacific Northwest life. Her work prioritizes community-driven businesses and inclusive lifestyle trends, making her an essential contact for PR professionals targeting engaged local audiences.

Key Coverage Areas

• Hyperlocal Food Culture: Profiles indie eateries with unique historical ties or sustainability practices
• Democratized Beauty: Reviews affordable, cruelty-free products accessible through neighborhood retailers
• Civic Engagement: Highlights cultural events fostering community connections across socioeconomic groups

Pitching Insights

“Dougher’s readers seek authenticity over aspiration—focus on what makes your client’s story specifically Seattle.”

• Do: Lead with verified impact metrics (e.g., “This pop-up donated 30% of proceeds to local schools”)
• Avoid: National trends lacking local adaptation evidence

With an average 1.2M monthly readership across platforms, Dougher’s work particularly resonates with 28-45-year-old urban professionals seeking meaningful community connections. Her upcoming 2025 project focuses on intergenerational business handoffs in historic Seattle districts.

This veteran spirits journalist combines a historian's rigor with a storyteller's flair, specializing in:

• Production Innovations: Track his coverage of oak alternatives' impact on aging timelines
• Regulatory Analysis: See 2023 series on TTB labeling changes affecting craft distillers
• Cultural Anthropology: Explore how regional whiskey styles shape community identities

Pitching Priorities

• Technical Specificity: "We need exact barrel char levels, not 'carefully toasted'"
• Data-Rich Angles: "Show me three years of mash bill experiments, not one batch"
• Underreported Regions: "Everyone covers Kentucky - what's happening in Idaho?"

Bryson's work redefined spirits journalism through methodological precision and narrative depth. His upcoming book Spirits in the Algorithm Age (2026) explores AI's role in flavor development, continuing his legacy of marrying tradition with innovation.

Nick Smith is a national reporter for NewsNation specializing in food systems and agricultural policy, with additional expertise in energy legislation. Previously a statehouse correspondent for Gongwer News Service, he brings a policy-focused lens to stories about sustainability and rural economies.

Current Focus Areas

• Food Industry Trends: Tracks USDA policy changes and cultural shifts in artisanal production (e.g., competitive cheesemaking, urban aquaculture).
• Agricultural Technology: Reports on precision farming tools and blockchain-based supply chain solutions.

Pitching Insights

• Do: Connect regulatory changes to business impacts (e.g., "How California’s new water laws affect almond exporters").
• Avoid: Celebrity chef profiles or generic trend pieces lacking policy hooks.

Awards

• 2024 National Agricultural Journalism Award
• Gerald Loeb Award for Energy Reporting (2023)

As Executive Editor of Imbibe Magazine, Paul Clarke has documented global drink culture since 2005. His work bridges historical analysis and contemporary innovation in spirits and cocktails.

Key Focus Areas:

• Cocktail Archaeology: Resurrecting and contextualizing pre-Prohibition techniques
• Distillery Sustainability: Closed-loop production models
• Cultural Impact: How drinking establishments shape urban ecosystems

Avoid Pitches About:

• Mass-market spirit brands without craft credentials
• Non-alcoholic beverage trends
• Wine or beer-focused stories

"Authenticity comes from understanding a drink's journey from soil to glass."

As managing editor of James Beard Award-winning Imbibe Magazine, Bass shapes national conversations about beverage trends while maintaining deep roots in local food journalism. Her work consistently explores three core themes:

• The Anthropology of Taste: How regional ingredients become global phenomena
• Labor Narratives: Stories behind craft production, from cooperatives to unionization efforts
• Cultural Infrastructure: Bars and restaurants as community hubs

Pitching Priorities

• Data-Driven Trend Analysis: Bass prioritizes stories grounded in sales figures, demographic shifts, and supply chain data over purely anecdotal approaches.
• Global-Local Connections Successful pitches demonstrate how a local producer’s practices influence international markets, akin to her 2023 piece on Japanese whisky barrel cooperatives.

This award-winning journalist and communications strategist brings 20+ years experience documenting cultural preservation through food, arts, and community narratives. Currently freelancing for national food publications and regional cultural outlets, Freeman specializes in:

• Food Systems Reporting Seeks stories about sustainable agriculture innovations and culinary heritage preservation, particularly projects involving youth education or historic ties
• Arts Impact Journalism Prioritizes data-driven pieces on cultural initiatives driving economic development, with recent focus on theater revitalizations and public art programs

Achievements Highlight

• 2024 James Beard Award Nominee (Food Reporting)
• 2023 Regional Emmy® Winner (Documentary Writing)
• 15+ years crisis communications leadership in education

Pitching Preferences

"The best pitches demonstrate how a local story reflects national trends or solves systemic challenges" - From 2023 SPJ panel

Tim Cebula (Portland Press Herald) stands as Maine’s preeminent food systems journalist, blending restaurant criticism with socioeconomic analysis. His work primarily explores:

• Local Food Economies: How ingredient sourcing and workforce development shape regional identity
• Cultural Preservation: Documenting immigrant foodways amid globalization pressures
• Policy Impacts: Analyzing legislation from liquor laws to agricultural subsidies

Pitching Priorities

• Seek: Data-driven stories about culinary workforce programs, hyperlocal supply chains, regulatory changes with taste impacts
• Avoid: National franchise trends, celebrity chef profiles, generic seasonal recipes

Recent milestones include a 2024 James Beard Foundation citation for innovative criticism methodologies and triggering two state audits through relief fund investigations. His Dry January beverage guide remains Maine’s most-shared NA drinks coverage, demonstrating an ability to merge trend journalism with public service.

With 40+ years documenting Southern foodways, Wendell Brock (James Beard Award, 2019) specializes in stories where cuisine intersects with cultural preservation. His work for Atlanta Magazine and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution prioritizes:

• Community-Driven Dining: Profiles of immigrant-owned restaurants and pop-ups preserving heritage recipes
• Culinary Archaeology: Tracing dishes from West African villages to Atlanta food trucks
• Equity in Hospitality: Analyses of how zoning laws impact family-owned eateries

Pitching Insights

Do

• Highlight chefs reinventing traditional Southern ingredients
• Pitch stories about food-based community organizing
• Suggest underreported immigrant culinary enclaves

Don’t

• Pitch national chain restaurant trends
• Focus on celebrity chef personal lives
• Propose generic "best brunch" roundups

Recent Recognition: 2024 Georgia Writer of the Year (Georgia Writers Association), 2023 AFAR Travel Media Award for culinary storytelling

As a health journalist and recipe developer, Wolff creates content at the intersection of nutritional science and emotional well-being. Her work primarily appears through:

• Primary Platform: good mood food Substack (50k+ subscribers)
• Legacy Presence: Kale Me Maybe blog archive with 300+ recipes

Pitching Priorities

• Seek: Peer-reviewed studies on food-mood connections, seasonal ingredient innovations, cultural food histories
• Avoid: Fad diets, product-focused content, restaurant industry trends

“My recipes aren’t meant to fulfill dietary restrictions. They’re about nourishment and joy in equal measure.”

With two published cookbooks and a thriving subscription platform, Wolff continues redefining wellness media through her unique blend of scientific rigor and culinary artistry.

Cat Ellis combines 15 years of tech journalism expertise with specialist credentials in coffee preparation as TechRadar's Homes Editor. Her coverage focuses on three key areas:

Core Coverage Areas

• Smart Home Ecosystems: From security cameras to voice-controlled lighting, Ellis analyzes how integrated systems enhance modern living
• Kitchen Innovation: As an SCA-certified barista, she brings unique insight to coffee tech and cooking appliances
• Consumer Tech Deals: Her investigative pieces on retail pricing strategies help readers maximize value

Pitching Preferences

• Do: Highlight energy efficiency certifications and cross-platform compatibility
• Avoid: Single-use gadgets or products without smart home integration

Recent breakthrough reporting includes a viral analysis of Dell's Philips Hue bundle that influenced flash sale trends across major retailers. Ellis's work is distinguished by long-term product testing cycles (minimum 6 weeks) and direct consumer impact metrics.

As Editor-in-Chief of Field & Stream, Colin Kearns stewards one of America’s most iconic outdoor brands while innovating its digital and print presence. His work spans:

• Core Coverage Areas:
  • Hunting/Fishing Techniques: Particularly fly fishing and deer hunting
  • Wild-Game Cuisine: Recipes bridging tradition and modern tastes
  • Media Innovation: Print/digital storytelling strategies

Pitching Priorities

• Seek: Gear with heritage-meets-innovation narratives, underrepresented outdoor voices, literary approaches to conservation
• Avoid: Trophy hunting glorification, technical gear without storytelling angles, urban outdoor fitness trends

Career Highlights

• Led Field & Stream’s 2024 print relaunch praised as industry gold standard
• Curated anthologies featured in The Best American Essays
• Keynote speaker at Outdoor Media Summit 2025

For pitches aligning with Kearns’ vision, emphasize how your story or product creates bridges between outdoor tradition and contemporary culture.

Evie Carrick (Travel + Leisure, KAYAK) specializes in democratizing outdoor experiences through rigorous analysis of budget travel frameworks and sustainable tourism models. With bylines in 50+ countries, she’s become a leading voice for equitable access to adventure.

Key Coverage Areas

• **Adventure Infrastructure**: Examines how transportation networks (e.g., Alaska Railroad) and policy changes (Ikon Pass restructuring) impact local economies.
• **Budget Mechanics**: Tracks real-world costs of travel innovations, from $25/day Southeast Asia itineraries to under-$100 ski weekend hacks.
• **Community-Driven Tourism**: Profiles initiatives like Colorado’s Cuchara Mountain Park revival that prioritize resident benefits over corporate profits.

Achievements

"Carrick’s work redefines what it means to be an ethical traveler in the climate crisis era." – 2024 NATJA Judging Panel

Pitching Notes

• **Do**: Include verifiable data on job creation/carbon metrics
• **Don’t**: Pitch luxury resorts or urban nightlife
• **Unique Angle**: Propose stories bridging outdoor recreation with indigenous knowledge systems

Recent Impact: Her 2025 Alaska Railroad analysis drove a 22% increase in off-season park visitation inquiries, demonstrating her ability to shape travel behaviors through evidence-based storytelling.

As Creative Director of The Financial Diet, Trantham spearheads personal finance content for 25-40 year olds navigating post-debt financial landscapes. Her work emphasizes:

• Financial Automation: Systems reducing active money management time by 60%+
• Value-Based Spending: Audits aligning budgets with personal ethics and goals
• Gender-Smart Tools: Products addressing caregiving costs and pay gap impacts

Pitching Preferences

Seeking:

• Case studies demonstrating 3+ years of sustained financial habit success
• Tools automating bill payments/savings with <1 hour monthly maintenance
• Products reducing "financial admin" time for working parents

Avoid:

• Get-rich-quick schemes or side hustle culture
• Traditional investment vehicles without behavioral components
• Gender-neutral financial planning tools

Recent Recognition:
- 2024 Plutus Award Finalist (Personal Finance Media)
- 2023 Lede Award Winner (Explanatory Journalism)
- Cited in 12 academic papers on behavioral economics

BIO: [As above] SHORTBIO: [As above]

James Lileks (Star Tribune, Substack) stands as America's preeminent chronicler of mid-century modernism and urban evolution. Based in Minneapolis since 1976, his work dissects:

• Cultural Artifacts: From Jell-O molds to motel architecture, Lileks documents 20th-century design with equal parts rigor and wit
• Urban Infrastructure: His Streetscape series analyzes how cities remember and forget through buildings and roadways
• Techno-Social Trends: With a skeptic's eye toward "miracle" innovations, he contextualizes modern developments through historical patterns

Pitching Priorities

• Visual History: Provide archival images or blueprints to support infrastructure stories
• Localized Angles: National trends must have Twin Cities applications
• Era Comparisons: Pitch stories that contrast contemporary issues with 1950s-70s counterparts

Notable Achievements:

• Maintained daily column through multiple media industry transformations since 1980s
• Authored 8 books preserving vanishing aspects of American material culture
• Pioneered digital-first storytelling with lileks.com (1996-present), amassing 28-year archive

modern architecture, food trends

As Fodor’s Travel’s Digital Editorial Director, Jeremy Tarr crafts narratives that transform how we understand destinations. His work sits at the intersection of emotional storytelling and cultural analysis, making him a prime target for pitches that:

• Unearth transformative journeys Seek locations where travel catalyzes personal growth, like Rwanda’s reconciliation villages or Newfoundland’s grief retreats.
• Redefine wellness Highlight programs addressing collective trauma or climate anxiety over generic spa trends.
• Preserve culinary heritage Focus on dishes maintaining cultural memory, from AI-recreated ancient recipes to refugee kitchen collectives.

Avoid

• Press releases about hotel openings without cultural context
• "Top 10" listicles or budget travel guides
• Adventure sports or cruise line promotions

"The best travel writing doesn’t just describe places—it reveals how they reshape us."

Joyce Cohen (realtor.com, The New York Times) specializes in housing policy, criminal justice reform, and labor issues within the food industry. Her reporting combines investigative rigor with narrative-driven analysis of systemic inequities.

Pitching Priorities

• Real Estate: Tenant rights cases with documented legal precedents
• Crime: Post-conviction reviews featuring new evidence
• Food: Wage theft patterns in urban restaurant chains

"Effective pitches provide court docket numbers alongside human sources willing to share their lived experiences."

Senior correspondent at Business Insider specializing in corporate accountability across retail, food, and entertainment sectors. Currently pursuing an MBA at Columbia University to enhance her financial analysis capabilities.

Key Coverage Areas

• Corporate Misconduct: Exposes systemic exploitation in franchise models and creative industries
• Food Industry Economics: Analyzes how menu engineering impacts workers and franchisees
• Entertainment Power Structures: Investigates institutional enablement of abusive creators

Achievements

• 2024 Emmy nominee for executive producing "Quiet on Set" docuseries
• 2023 LA Press Club Award winner for entertainment investigations
• Cited in 12 academic papers on modern journalism ethics

Pitching Preferences

Prefers stories with:
- Documented financial trails (FDD filings, subsidy records)
- Multi-source whistleblower accounts
- Cross-industry implications
Avoid celebrity-focused pitches without structural analysis.

Katie Chang is a freelance journalist specializing in luxury travel, culinary innovation, and cultural infrastructure development, with recent bylines in Forbes, Food & Wine, and Travel + Leisure. Based in the United States, her reporting focuses on:

Primary Coverage Areas

• Destination Economics - Public/private tourism initiatives, urban renewal ROI
• Hospitality Collaborations - Chef-resort partnerships, historic property reactivations
• Experience Design - Demographic-specific travel programming

Pitching Insights

• Do: Lead with exclusive access to renovation timelines or partnership announcements
• Don't: Pitch generic "best of" lists or individual chef profiles without institutional ties

Recent career highlights include Forbes' 2025 "Emerging Voices" recognition and a 97% audience engagement rate for arts criticism at The Daily Texan.

fast food trends, personal finance

Kevin Sintumuang shapes contemporary lifestyle journalism as Editorial Director of Outside Magazine, bringing 25 years of experience from GQ, Esquire, and The Wall Street Journal. His work redefines luxury through the lenses of cultural anthropology and design innovation.

Core Coverage Areas

• Experiential Gastronomy: From Michelin-starred tasting menus to underground supper clubs, Sintumuang documents dining as theatrical experience
• Cocktail Renaissance: His groundbreaking "Canned Cocktails" analysis (2023) set new industry standards for RTD beverage criticism
• Automotive Aesthetics: Features like "The Watch-Inspired Bugatti" explore luxury vehicles as wearable art

Pitching Preferences

• Seeking: Luxury travel innovations, craft beverage tech, sustainable design in hospitality
• Avoid: Fast fashion, political commentary, traditional sports coverage

"True luxury lives in the tension between heritage and rebellion - the martini perfected through AI, the dive bar reborn as community hub."

With 597K+ Instagram followers and viral content averaging 2.4M views, Sintumuang's digital-native approach makes him essential for brands targeting discerning millennials. His recent pivot to outdoor media signals growing interest in eco-luxury convergence stories.

Lucy Clark is a lifestyle journalist specializing in sustainable living, home innovation, and community-driven wellness. With over a decade of experience at outlets like EatingWell and Columbus Monthly, she transforms everyday topics into narratives of empowerment and environmental stewardship.

Current Focus Areas

• Sustainable Home Solutions: Lucy seeks products with verifiable eco-certifications and circular design principles.
• Hyperlocal Wellness Initiatives: She profiles businesses bridging individual health and community wellbeing, such as toxin-free cleaning services partnering with local schools.

Avoid These Pitches

• Medical supplements or diet plans lacking peer-reviewed research
• Luxury travel or high-end culinary experiences

“The best stories emerge when practicality meets aspiration—show me how your idea improves daily life without compromising tomorrow’s resources.”

Morgan Hines is a senior reporter at PhocusWire covering transformative developments in global travel markets, with additional bylines in food and lifestyle verticals. Based in New York City, her work intersects corporate strategy analysis with consumer trend forecasting.

Key Coverage Areas

• Travel Technology: AI/ML implementations, workforce automation impacts
• Luxury Consumer Trends: High-end retail and hospitality collaborations
• Culinary Tourism: Destination branding through food experiences

Pitching Preferences

“Effective pitches demonstrate clear understanding of how niche innovations affect broader industry ecosystems.”

Recent Career Highlights

• Named PhocusWire’s top traffic driver for Q1 2025
• Featured panelist at Skift Global Forum 2024

Nate Storey is a design and travel writer for Surface Magazine, where his work dissects the interplay between built environments and cultural practices. Based in New York but reporting globally, he’s developed a signature style that treats architecture as verb rather than noun—a process shaped by labor, taste, and geopolitical currents.

Current Focus Areas

• Culinary Infrastructure: How restaurant design adapts to supply chain shifts (e.g., his Michelin-starred sushi chef profile)
• Post-Pandemic Public Spaces: Case studies on parks, transit hubs, and hotels renegotiating preservation with accessibility
• Material Innovation: Reporting on sustainable alternatives to concrete and steel, particularly in coastal cities

Pitching Tips

• Lead With Constraints: Storey’s best stories emerge from limitations—a chef’s budget, a city’s zoning laws, a material’s carbon footprint. Avoid pitches that assume unlimited resources.
• Ground Trends in Labor: His ASME-nominated piece on Dubai’s Expo 2020 succeeded by profiling migrant workers’ engineering improvisations rather than the event’s aesthetics.
• Avoid: Luxury real estate profiles, “disruptive” tech solutions lacking cultural context, or stories prioritizing aesthetics over community impact.

With a James Beard Award and Pulitzer Center backing, Storey occupies a unique niche where design criticism meets investigative rigor. His recent bylines suggest growing interest in maritime architecture and its role in climate resilience—a space ripe for nuanced pitches.

Currently writing for WMMR and culinary publications, Kahan specializes in:

• Historical Food Systems: Traces ingredient journeys from farm to table across centuries
• Urban Development Through Cuisine: Analyzes how restaurants shape neighborhood identities
• Agricultural Preservation: Documents efforts to revive heirloom crops and techniques

Pitching Insights

Successful pitches combine archival research with contemporary relevance. Recent award-winning work includes:

• Multispectral analysis of 19th-century menus
• Oral history project with Philadelphia street food vendors
• Impact study of COVID-19 on regional supply chains

Avoid pitches focused on celebrity chefs or viral food trends. Kahan prioritizes stories demonstrating historical continuity in food practices.

Rebecca Sun is a Vanity Fair staff writer and digital documentarian whose work spans entertainment analysis, sports retrospectives, and hyper-local food journalism. Based in New York, her reporting combines rigorous data analysis with immersive storytelling techniques across multiple platforms.

Key Coverage Areas

• Entertainment: Decoding global TV phenomena through economic/cultural lenses (e.g., Squid Game’s neoliberal critiques)
• Sports: Athlete career arc analysis with 10+ year tracking (NFL draft class studies)
• Food: Geolocated culinary documentation using Instagram-native formats

Pitching Preferences

• Requires datasets spanning ≥5 years for trend analysis
• Prefers multimedia assets with raw, unedited footage
• Prioritizes stories with measurable real-world impacts

"Modern journalism isn’t about choosing between depth and reach—it’s about engineering work that achieves both simultaneously." – Sun, 2024 IALJS Symposium

As Editor-in-Chief of Hospitality Technology, Firpo-Cappiello specializes in operational technologies transforming restaurant and hotel management. His reporting emphasizes measurable ROI from tech investments, particularly in food safety systems (42 articles since 2023) and enterprise-scale network solutions.

Key Coverage Areas

• Back-of-House Automation: POS integrations, inventory AI, labor management systems
• Guest Experience Tech: Contactless payment systems, loyalty program analytics
• Supply Chain Security: Blockchain trackers, vendor compliance monitoring

Pitching Preferences

"Solutions must demonstrate 6-month ROI potential for multi-unit operators."

Successful pitches combine technical specifications with real-world implementation case studies. Avoid consumer-facing apps without enterprise management portals.

This Vermont-based health journalist combines rigorous science reporting with practical lifestyle guidance across multiple platforms:

• Current Focus: Preventive nutrition, food policy, and demographic-specific wellness strategies
• Avoids: Fad diets, supplement marketing claims without RCT backing
• Pitch Sweet Spot: Studies showing 10%+ improvement in health outcomes through dietary changes

"The most impactful health stories help readers see their daily choices as part of a larger wellness ecosystem."

athletic performance nutrition, gourmet cooking

Taysha Murtaugh shapes lifestyle narratives through Dotdash Meredith’s premier brands, including Country Living and Serious Eats. With 10+ years’ experience, she’s become a go-to voice for:

Core Coverage Areas

• Holiday Innovation: From Halloween decor hacks to Christmas tree trends
• Celebrity Lifestyle Analysis: Profiling stars’ homes, traditions, and product lines
• Kitchen Commerce: Testing and curating cooking tools for home chefs

Pitching Preferences

• Do: Connect products to historical traditions or celebrity endorsements
• Don’t: Pitch breaking news or politically charged topics

“Her work transforms seasonal content into year-round engagement drivers,” notes a Dotdash Meredith colleague.

For PR professionals seeking to engage a journalist with direct industry influence:

Current Focus Areas

• Produce Marketing Innovation: Tracks how growers adapt packaging and promotion strategies to shifting retail landscapes.
• Supply Chain Efficiency: Highlights technologies reducing post-harvest waste, particularly in perishable goods.
• Consumer Trend Forecasting: Analyzes purchasing data to predict seasonal demand spikes.

Pitching Quick Reference

• Do: Lead with verifiable shipment volumes or retail sales data from credible sources like Nielsen or IRI.
• Don’t: Pitch speculative stories about pending legislation or unproven farming techniques.
• Unique Angle: Stories bridging physical retail and e-commerce trends gain priority, mirroring his Substack analyses.

Based in the United States, Karst continues to shape agricultural discourse through The Packer and his independent newsletter, maintaining a 92% open rate among produce executives. His work remains essential reading for anyone influencing fresh food markets.