Severson takes the Atlanta beat, emphasis on food

Seems the NYT's Kim Severson hasn't fully transitioned to her new beat yet, or something. When she announced in July that she was moving from the food section (sad!) to becoming the Atlanta bureau chief, she said: "I'll still be writing about food. I'm just adding murder, natural disasters and politics to the mix."

Indeed. Of her last four articles, three have been on food (two in the food section, one in national). We've seen: Cult ATL burger joint wants to sell, sweet potatoes are increasingly popular, School of Americas demonstration smaller than in previous years and Yo, you should eat the local specialty when you go travel somewhere.

The sweet potatoes article was good but I'm not sure I get the other two.

Anyway, does she actually have a special arrangement where she gets to do this, different from other national desk bureau chiefs?