WDIV anchor/reporter embraces Canton Township homecoming
WDIV anchor/reporter Pamela Osborne and her husband Brandon Hudson and their three children moved to Canton from the East Coast earlier this year.
Canton High grad hosted township’s first Juneteenth celebration
The inspiration to become a difference-maker in the super-competitive field of broadcast journalism initially hit WDIV anchor/reporter Pamela Osborne during her days as a student at Canton High School.
“My mom worked in downtown Detroit and my dad worked in Dearborn for Ford, so I remember most evenings them coming home from work and all of us watching the news as a family,” Osborne reflected. “I remember watching (retired WDIV anchor) Carmen Harlan and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s doing that; maybe I can do that, too, one day’.”
That day arrived shortly after Osborne graduated from the University of Michigan when her dreams were realized and her reporting skills – like Harlan’s – started becoming appreciated by audiences in a variety of major markets throughout the Midwest and on the East Coast.
Following successful on-air broadcasting stints in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Osborne, her husband Brandon Hudson (a daytime anchor for Fox 2) and their three children relocated to Canton earlier this year, completing a compelling circle of life, of sorts, for the former student at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools’ Gallimore Elementary and West and Pioneer middle schools.
While she enjoyed the adrenaline rush of working in bustling big cities, Osborne said she is embracing her southeast-Michigan homecoming.
“When I first moved to Pittsburgh, I missed the diversity I experienced here in southeast Michigan,” she said. “I also missed the pace of life this area provides. When I was in Philly, everything was go, go, go – super fast, which wasn’t a bad thing. Here, though, we can relax a little more and our kids can get to see their grandparents on a multi-weekly basis, which is probably the best part about coming home.”
Osborne said she is beyond honored to have been selected to serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for Canton’s inaugural Juneteenth celebration that will unfold Saturday, June 18, at 3 p.m. at the Heritage Park Amphitheater.
A WDIV colleague who also lives in Canton suggested to an event organizer that Osborne would be an ideal host for the celebration
“When they asked me to host, I couldn’t say yes fast enough,” she revealed, smiling.
“I am so excited to be able to host a first-ever event like this because I basically grew up near Beck and Cherry Hill (roads),” she said. “I remember being able to walk outside my house and see the Liberty Fest fireworks … and now I have an opportunity to participate in something as important as a celebration of Juneteenth. It’s going to be super-cool, too, because my husband, my kids and my parents will all be there to share the experience with me.”
Osborne has covered a wide-ranging spectrum of stories during her career, including the 2013 happy ending to the abduction and eventual release of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight, who were imprisoned in a Cleveland home for 10 years; to the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl Parade in 2018.
“I am really hoping I’ll get to cover a Super Bowl parade in Detroit very soon,” she said, chuckling.
More than anything, Osborne is just happy to be back home with her family and friends.
“After everything that happened with the pandemic, you realize how important it is to be closer to the people you are closest to,” she said.
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