(Photo by August Jennewein)
Long before Kim Hudson’s face graced television screens across the St. Louis area, she was a familiar sight at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, whether she was covering campus news for The Current or leading cheers at basketball games.
Hudson was promoted to host of KTVI’s “AM Show” in July, where she replaced former host Tim Ezell. Her new gig lets her sleep in a few hours later than her previous position of anchoring Fox 2’s 4 a.m. spot, and has her doing everything from helping out with a chocolate dip in the on-camera demonstration kitchen one minute to delivering hard-hitting news the next.
Hudson’s job doesn’t end when she leaves the set. Her position also requires her to plan and prepare stories and segments for the show. Hudson graduated from UMSL in 2000 with a communication degree, and the new high-profile job has made her grateful for the education she received at UMSL.
“It is like planning a huge dinner party, with multiple courses and a band, everyday,” Hudson says. “I really appreciate my faculty advisers in student activities for teaching me about confirmation letters and contracts. I am using every bit of that knowledge.”
Kim Hudson (left) learns how to make s’mores dip from Carol Hurst, of the Olde Town Spice Shoppe in St. Charles. The cooking segment was part of the Hudson’s July 20 inaugural show as anchor of FOX 2’s “AM Show.”
Hudson’s path to her new position was an unexpected one. She graduated from Metro Academic and Classical High School in St. Louis with interests in science and parents who hoped she would become a doctor. As a talented biology and Pierre Laclede Honors Collegestudent at UMSL, she shocked her classmates when she switched her major to medical physics. In her fifth year, she realized that she had a passion for journalism and switched again to mass communication.
“I was wanting to tell the truth about women, children, people of color and poor people,” Hudson says. “I felt like there are so many stereotypes out there. I wanted to be one of the journalists I saw every day working to break those, working to tell people that when there’s a shooting in north St. Louis, there’s a family behind it.”
Hudson is a second-generation UMSL graduate. Her mother, Stephanie Hudson, graduated in 1993 with degrees in sociology and social work.
While on campus, she stayed busy as a reporter for the student newspaper The Current, and a member of the dance team, cheering on what were then the Rivermen in the Mark Twain Athletic & Fitness Center.
As a student, Hudson often went beyond the basics of her assignments, taking care to go into details on current-events quizzes and conduct more interviews on a topic than were required, says Michael Murray, Curators’ Teaching Professor for Media Studies at UMSL.
Many graduates move around for their news careers, Murray says. Hudson’s presence in St. Louis reminds the community of the high quality of UMSL’s media studies and communication programs. She’s worked at numerous news outlets in the city, both on-camera and off.
“The career trajectory of most people in TV news means that many of our sharpest and most ambitious alumni had to leave town to become successful in smaller markets,” he says. “It is a tremendous tribute to Kim that the managers at Fox 2 have put their faith in her. This faith is well-placed and very well-deserved.”
Visit the FOX 2 website to view a clip of Hudson interviewing Mike Murray on her first day as the “AM Show” host.
—
Other notable local media members with ties to UMSL:
- Jim Thomas and Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Frank Cusumano and Jim Tuxbury of KSDK (Channel 5)
- Mary Edwards of St. Louis Public Radio
- Kevin Killeen of KMOX (1120 AM)
- Cheryl Baehr and Mabel Suen of the Riverfront Times
- Allyson Mace of Sauce Magazine.
This story appeared in the fall 2014 issue of UMSL Magazine.
