AMBER SPRADLEY
A storied broadcast journalist
WLOX News Now
Amber Spradley, 30, is a curious and trusted news journalist who most recently served as a live-weekday reporter and solo-weekend anchor for WLOX News Now in Biloxi, Mississippi. Originally from Atlanta, Spradley graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University in 2018. Since then, she has covered impactful stories across Georgia, Florida and Mississippi.
WATCH: HIGHLIGHT REELS
WLOX 2021-2024
WCTV Eyewitness News
Prior to WLOX, Spradley worked remotely as a bureau reporter in Valdosta, Georgia, hammering out headlines across South Georgia and North Florida. As a lone reporter in the region and with a beat as broad as the area, Spradley reported on a range of high-impact stories. She documented the historic COVID-19 outbreak, disaster damage and recovery efforts following major weather events, armed protesting and a tense 2020 presidential election, along with all its recounts. Among many unforgettable moments, Spradley once found herself “on the ground” of a presidential visit, shooting alongside her earlier CBS-46 mentors.
From stabbings, shootings and arson to a buried body uncovered, Amber Spradley reported on several gruesome, yet important, crimes. 
She was on the ground, following many significant natural disasters. 
During her time with WCTV, she brought many different “excessive force” cases to light. 
Spradley played a key role in keeping the community informed during the 2020 election season, shooting a presidential visit to Valdosta. 
She kept up with the state’s new voting machines during the election, the turnout and all its recounts. 
Spradley followed an array of protests pushing to remove KKK-affiliated monuments and street names… 
…even armed demonstrations, aiming to raise awareness and re-open the case of Kendrick Johnson. 
She was also there as groups challenged their very right to protest, with one individual arrested for a “vulgar” sign. 
And Spradley helped document the single-most important event of her career thus far: the COVID-19 Pandemic. From the region’s first known case of the virus to its first medicine developed to treat it… 
…Testing that ensued to track the virus… 
…Outbreaks that Spradley brought to the forefront following the surge, including a nursing home that caught the attention of Morgan & Morgan law firm… 
….as well as a Pilgrim’s chicken plant. 
She help spread the messages of new mask mandates… 
…business closures and city-wide curfews. 
She revealed the innovative ideas of healthcare teams, working to combative a sickness unfamiliar to them, like outdoor doctor visits… 
…personal protective gear and new triage tents. 
She captured the arrival of the first vaccines… 
…the community’s prioritization of immunizing and the shortage that would soon follow the demand. 
While it was a difficult moment in history, Spradley also recounts how communities united to celebrate the progress healthcare teams were making, as well as their patients.
WMBB News 13
Her official starting point, Spradley moved to the Florida Panhandle in 2019 to join WMBB News13 in Panama City. Just months following Hurricane Michael, she arrived to a region in ruins and a station still demolished by the deadly storm. She was one of about 10 college graduates journeying to the area and making up a nearly all-new team. She worked as an early-morning reporter and mid-day producer.
Spradley served several roles including live morning reporter, MMJ, occasional midday producer and digital content creator. 
Along with her team, Spradley contributed to an emotional docuseries called, Weathering the Storm. She highlighted local Hurricane Michael survivors and their individual roads to recovery. 
Spradley explored the hurricane’s direct impact on sea-turtle nests and oyster reefs across the Panhandle. 
She rode along with local police and EMTs to help expose the area’s growing concern of squatting following the storm, and she also helped document a federal grand jury’s indictments against community leaders for significant financial corruption amid recovery efforts. 
Spradley solo-produced a cold-case series that explored one unsolved homicide each week for a total of 15. One that struck her the most is the disappearance of Calandra Stallworth from Crestview in 2017. In 2024, her boyfriend and only person of interest in the case, was sentenced to life in prison for two unrelated murders committed since her disappearance. Yet Stallworth’s case remains unsolved in Crestview. 
Spradley live-reported as red-flag warnings rose across county beaches in early July and as Barry became the first-named storm of the 2019 hurricane season to impact the Panhandle. Rough surf eroded parts of the coastline, displaced several sandbars and washed out dozens of sea-turtle nests from Franklin to Walton counties. 
Spradley covered a vulnerable and anxious, storm-worn community and its panic as Dorian developed and rapidly intensified to one of the strongest hurricanes of all time – one month short of a year since Michael. Residents bought out hardware shops, fuel stations and grocery stores for miles. 
Spradley captured a message-in-a-bottle exclusive on 30A that eventually made its way to the Kelly Clarkson Show for one emotional uniting. The bottle, which included a letter signed by “Peyton” and her late father’s ashes, reached Walton County Sgt. Paula Pendleton on the same beach she released her own late husband’s ashes.
CBS-46 News
Spradley was one of two people selected to intern with one of Atlanta’s top local news stations in 2018, the-then WGCL/CBS-46 News (now known as WANF/Atlanta News First) Enjoying her time with the team so much, Spradley extended her internship period twice. While none of her work aired, she gained plenty of practice both on camera and behind it.
Spradley assisted the talented team of trusted journalists in developing and producing daily news content inside the newsroom, behind the studio scenes and from the field. 
Spradley practiced shooting standups and faux live shots amid breaking events, interviewed key community leaders, filmed supplemental video and more. 
Spradley also spent most of her weekend mornings operating the teleprompter for long-time anchor Meghan Packer, who she would come to see as a personal role model. 
The internship also granted her the unique experience of helping exclusively broadcast Super Bowl LIII. It was the city’s first championship game played inside its Mercedes-Benz Stadium. She also witnessed an incredible array of storytelling that unraveled around the event’s impact on the community. 
One of the most influential moments of her internship came on July 21, 2018 when an EF-4 tornado flattened Lee County, Alabama and killed 23 people. On the ground, Spradley helped capture stories of death, survival and hope that would make her “dream job” all-the-more real. 
Spradley also returned to her Atlanta high school with the CBS-46 News team, responding to hate symbols spray painted on the school property.
GSU-TV
With an academic scholarship, Spradley further pursued her passion at Georgia State University and honed her multimedia skills with GSU-TV. Spradley graduated magna cum laude in 2018 with degrees in broadcast journalism and film. She is also a former member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the Golden Key International Honour Society and the Society of Professional Journalists. You can also find her on the 2016-2018 President’s and Dean’s lists.
With GSU-TV, Spradley pitched, developed, produced and edited original content that aired across the state on Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). 
Located nearby one of the world’s leading news networks at the time, most of Spradley’s professors also actively worked as professional journalists at CNN. Spending several classes inside their historic headquarters, she met one of her career-long mentors, Monte Plott. 
As a college student, Spradley was selected to participate in Cox Media Group’s statewide, “Day in the Life” event with WSB-TV in Atlanta where she learned hands-on from the Channel 2 Action News team, attended workshops and delivered an on-stage oral presentation. Spradley was later offered an internship position with WSB/Ch2 but did not assume the role. 
Spradley accidentally stumbled upon one of her most memorable stories to date at the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport. Her documentary explores the aviation legacy behind FBO-owner Pat Epps and his 11-year journey recovering WWII’s “Lost Squadron” from the Greenland Ice Cap.
CHS Knight Vision
Amber Spradley ultimately discovered her passion for broadcast journalism while attending Centennial High School in North Fulton County. She advanced each year within its nationally-recognized broadcast video production program, Knight Vision. Since then, Spradley has been devoted to highlighting her peers in a powerful way.
Spradley helped pitch and produce a variety of topical newscasts, sports packages and short films. 
Along with her classmates, Spradley competed each year at statewide SkillsUSA meets. 
She gained first-hand experience during field trips to the nearby CNN World Headquarters at the time, which was one of the world’s top news networks. 
Upon graduating in 2013, Spradley received an accomplishment award for her work with the program, which inspired her to achieve even more in the field.
Amber Spradley 