Anthony Hudson is a man of many talents. As a proud council member of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), a social media specialist at Indiana University Northwest (IUN), a YouTuber/podcaster and a new media journalist at GreatNews.Life, it seems as if the college senior doesn’t have a day where he is not pursuing his passion for journalism.
Journalism wasn’t his first love, however. As a child growing up in Douglasville, Georgia, Hudson’s first passion was sports, particularly football. As a lifelong Atlanta Falcons fan, he grew up wanting to play football professionally. After moving to Merrillville, Indiana at the age of 15, the Georgia native recalled having a talk with his mother that ultimately sent him on the path towards sports journalism.
“I recall her saying, ‘I understand that you like football, but it might not be suited for you to play professionally,’” Hudson said. “She asked me, ‘Why not try to go the journalism route? You like to talk about it, express your opinions and do research. Why don’t you go into the journalism side of it?’”
After that conversation, a spark was ignited for Hudson. He began taking journalism classes at Merrillville High School, eventually becoming the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper during his junior and senior years.
After graduating from Merrillville High School in 2021, Hudson was accepted into IUN as a communication major. As previously mentioned, he has used his time at IUN to the fullest, joining a plethora of different clubs. Though he loves all of them, Red Hawk Media, IUN’s student-run media production organization, has been the most influential one he’s been a part of.
“It was the very first club that I joined here,” Hudson said. “It basically just showed me how to not only be better as a podcaster but in media in general. I learned how to use a mixer and how to use Adobe Audition and Premiere. I also learned how to project my voice and be able to speak on things and then segue to different subjects without having awkward space between them.”
On top of his role at Red Hawk Media and PRSSA, Hudson is also a member of IUN’s Black Student Union which he cites as one of his favorite clubs.
“I love my Black Student Union folks; I love them to death,” Hudson said. “They are some of the most amazing people to work with, and it’s one of the most fun clubs that I’ve been a part of. They’re just a tight-knit community that frequently makes me happy every single day.”
Recently, Hudson delivered a speech at TEDXGary on October 5 where he talked about transforming Gary through IUN. He noted that an advisor at Red Hawk Media offered him the opportunity due to one of the speakers dropping out.
“We can transform Gary with the revitalization of IUN; that’s the whole point of it,” Hudson said. “It could show how IUN can better Gary and how it could better the overall environment.”
As graduation inches closer for Hudson this coming May, he aims to continue his career in sports journalism. Though his dream is to be on large sports stations such as ESPN, TNT and Fox, he hopes to land internships in sports media in surrounding cities in the midwest.
“I’m looking for a city that could help get me an internship and get my foot into bigger corporations,” Hudson said. “I’ve done internships that have elevated me and helped me with my craft, but now I need to get my name out there. I’m looking for a big internship. That’s the next goal and hopefully that internship can just get me into a big sports media organization.”
While Hudson continues his career in sports media, you can get a taste of what he has to offer through his podcast, “It’s My Turn,” which can be listened to here.