Katie Loudermilk Wins 2020 Molly Turner Broadcast Scholarship

Katie Loudermilk

SPJ Florida and the family of the late Molly Turner are proud to announce that Katie Loudermilk is the winner of the 2020 Molly Turner Broadcast Scholarship.

A student at Florida Gulf Coast University, Loudermilk earned her associates degree in mass communication from Hillsborough Community College and graduated from Plant City High School in 2016.

Now in its fourth year, SPJ Florida partnered with the Turner family to create a scholarship fund for women in broadcast journalism, named in honor of Molly Turner, known as the “first lady of South Florida news.” A former WPLG-Ch. 10 Miami news personality, she was the first female reporter and anchor in South Florida.

“[Loudermilk] has both writing and photo and graphic skills that enable her to craft the words and visuals to create a complete story,” said Lyle Landon, the daughter of Turner.  “Broadcast journalism is an art form that is most effective when the words and images are woven together to strengthen the story line and deliver the desired impact.”

Loudermilk balances her schoolwork with serving as a staff writer at FGCU’s Eagle News and working as a cashier at Publix. Previously, she was editor-in-chief at The Hawkeye Newspaper at Hillsborough Community College.

In her personal essay, she shared that she discovered she was named after Katie Couric when she told her father she wanted to study journalism. Since then she has immersed herself in student and local media. She hopes that with her platform as a journalist, she will be able to share stories of people who have overcome the odds to reach success.