The end has come for a staple source of Houston food news. Since November 2016, Phaedra Cook's Houston Food Finder has been one of the most dynamic outlets covering a very food-centric city. She announced on, Thursdy, July 31, that she would be transitioning away from Houston Food Finder's website of articles to focus on sharing news and opinions via social media accounts and an email list. While this doesn't mean Houston Food Finder is gone, it's definitely a different kind of coverage focused less on Cook's in-depth writing and incorporating more video production for the TikTok age.

"I think that this time I am behind the curve, and I’m having to catch up on skills that influencers 'grew up' with," she writes in an email interview. "I’ve had to teach myself a great deal about video production and how to tell stories in the social media space over the past few years as the shift in that direction became obvious and inevitable. It’s very different from writing a 1,200-word article where you can wax philosophically about the texture of a mushroom."

Cook formerly worked as a restaurant correspondent for the Houston Press before striking out in her own. In nine years, she grew Houston Food Finder into a successful, full-time outlet that reached more than 30,000 followers and subscribers across various accounts. She regularly featured some of the city's best eateries, no small feat in a gastronomical powerhouse like Houston.

The URL for Houston Food Finder will shut down in the coming weeks. All future coverage will be either through social media accounts like Facebook or through Cook's email list. Those interested in continuing to follow Cook should follow/signup there.

The transition comes thanks to dramatic shifts in both journalism and the restaurant industry. For years, advertising from restaurants and bars served as the backbone of Houston Food Finder's revenue. That spending has shifted towards influencers and other forms of social media marketing. On top of that, the days of anonymous food critics blending into the background for coverage are long gone. Many restaurants know when a reviewer like Cook is on the premises, and when so many personas are now public, it can make coverage messy. Also, restaurants increasingly demand better coverage when they spend ad dollars.

"You’d have to be in a coma the last 15 years not to know that journalism is in huge trouble, and it’s getting worse, not better — not just for small publications but big ones, too," she writes. "How do you retain journalistic integrity when your business depends on sponsors that are also potential story subjects, or when your publication has a millionaire owner who’s a political gatekeeper?"

Cook says that she plans to maintain the traditional journalistic standards as Houston Food Finder enters this next phase. Content will just be shorter and more visually-oriented. She plans to continue writing at PhaedraCook.com for those who prefer the written word. Most excitingly, Cook says that she plans to explore beyond Houston, tackling the wider world of food, as well as restart her podcast.

"I have to learn brevity and how to let the pictures do more of the talking," she writes. "We’re all busy these days. We’re all dealing with information overload. We’re pounded daily with marketing everywhere we look, whether it be in our inboxes or on social media, and now with AI, we have to figure out what’s real and what’s not. It’s mentally exhausting. I will have to tell good, powerful stories that are useful to my audience and not waste their time. I’m looking forward to the challenge."