Tom Hudson
In a journalism career covering news from high global finance to neighborhood infrastructure, Tom Hudson is the Vice President of News and Special Correspondent for WLRN. He hosts and produces the Sunshine Economy and anchors the Florida Roundup in addition to leading the organization's news engagement strategy.
Hudson was most recently the co-anchor and managing editor of Nightly Business Report on Public Television. In that position Hudson reported on topics such as Federal Reserve interest rate policy, agriculture and global trade. Prior to co-anchoring NBR, he was host and managing editor of the nationally syndicated financial television program “First Business.” He overhauled the existing program leading to a 20 percent increase in distribution in his first year with the program.
Tom also reported and anchored market coverage for the groundbreaking web-based financial news service, WebFN. Beginning in 2001, WebFN was among the first live online streaming video outlets. While there he reported regularly from the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade and the CME. Additionally, he created original business news and information programming for the investor channel of a large e-brokerage firm distributed to six large market CBS Radio stations.
Before his jump to television and broadband, Tom co-anchored morning drive for the former all-news, heritage 50kw WMAQ-AM/Chicago. He spent the better part of a decade in general news as anchor, reporter, manager and talk show host in several markets covering a wide variety of stories and topics.
He has served as a member of the adjunct faculty in the Journalism Department of Columbia College Chicago and has been a frequent guest on other TV and radio programs as well as a guest speaker at universities on communications, journalism and business.
Tom writes a weekly column for the Miami Herald and the McClatchy-Tribune News Service. He appears regularly on KNX-AM/Los Angeles and WBBM-AM/Chicago for commentary on the economy and investment markets.
While Tom was co-anchoring and managing NBR, the program was awarded the 2012 Program of Excellence Award by American Public Television. Tom also has been awarded two National Press Foundation fellowships including one for the Wharton Seminars for Business Journalists in 2006. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa and is the recipient of several professional honors and awards for his work in journalism.
He is married with two boys who tend to wake up early on the weekends.
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'We don't go to Home Depot': A Venezuelan couple's immigration journey through a year of enforcementIt has been one year since Donald Trump began his immigration enforcement policy. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians have lost their immigration protections. One Venezuela couple was granted a visa, clearing up their legal status. Still, they feel vulnerable as much as they are faithful in the system. -
Brightline experienced record ridership in December but two credit rating agencies now warn the service may not be able to make its scheduled debt payments in one year. -
The first private passenger rail service in more than a century in the U.S. is finding it difficult getting more people to pay higher fares as it works to increase its revenues faster. Brightline faces some big debt payments in 2026. At least one analyst warns of default. -
South Florida's condo market cool-off continued in 2025, even as the number of sales increased as the year came to an end. Single-family homes remained in strong demand. -
Sign-ups are down nationally as extended tax credits approved during the COVID pandemic expired. As the enrollment deadline approached, Florida showed the largest drop: more than 260,000 fewer people. -
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Pres. Raphael Bostic knows hiring has cooled off, but he remains most concerned about keeping inflation heating up. The Fed's main tool to fight inflation is higher interest rates, which is the opposite of what Pres. Trump has been pressuring the Fed to do. -
Every weekday, Billy Botsch takes an hourlong trip on two trains to Miami immigration court. He isn't a lawyer. He doesn't have a family member due to appear. He watches and takes notes from hundreds of hearings. WLRN asked him to keep a diary for a day. -
The Florida Legislature is poised to pass several proposed constitutional amendments that would change local property taxes if approved by voters. Cutting or getting rid of most property taxes may not make buying a home more affordable though. -
Average monthly fees for high-rise condo buildings in South Florida are the highest in the country outside of New York City, according to data from North America's largest property management firm. Higher insurance and labor costs are significant drivers, as is setting aside more money in reserves. -
South Florida condo sales picked up again last month thanks to lower prices and lower mortgage ratesCheaper borrowed money to buy a South Florida home and condo helped bring buyers into the market in October. The median Miami-Dade condo sold for the lowest price in more than two years.
