Cameron found his way into journalism through an unlikely route—a summer internship at a small AM radio station in Abilene, where he was supposed to be running the audio board but kept pitching story ideas until they finally let him report. That was 2013, and he hasn't stopped asking questions since.

found his way into journalism through an unlikely route—a summer internship at a small AM radio station in Abilene, where he was supposed to be running the audio board but kept pitching story ideas until they finally let him report. That was 2013, and he hasn’t stopped asking questions since.

Today, Cameron covers business and economic development for newsoffortworth.com, tracking the deals, decisions, and disputes shaping Fort Worth’s transformation from cattle town legacy to one of the fastest-growing metros in the country. His beat spans everything from the Walsh Ranch development and Panther Island infrastructure debates to the tech startups quietly setting up shop along West 7th.

Career Highlights

Before joining newsoffortworth.com, Cameron spent six years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered the oil and gas sector during the Permian Basin boom and subsequent downturns. His 2019 investigation into municipal incentive packages—specifically how the city structured tax abatements for the Facebook data center deal—earned him a Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Award for business reporting. Earlier in his career, he cut his teeth at the Abilene Reporter-News covering county government and rural economic struggles.

Cameron holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas, where he also minored in economics—a combination that proves useful when parsing quarterly earnings calls or explaining bond propositions to readers. He completed the Reynolds Business Journalism Fellowship at Arizona State University in 2021, sharpening his skills in financial document analysis.

Fort Worth Roots

He grew up in Weatherford, about 30 miles west of Fort Worth, and remembers when his parents would drive into the city for special occasions. Now he lives near the Near Southside with his wife and their very opinionated beagle. On weekends, you might find him at a Fort Worth Vaqueros FC match or hunting for vintage vinyl at Doc’s Records.
Cameron believes local business journalism matters because economic decisions made in city hall conference rooms end up affecting everyone’s rent, commute, and job prospects—whether they realize it or not.

— Cameron R. Hayes
Email: Cameron@newsoffortworth.com