News

Grambling grad students to launch news network

With the rapid influence of social media and the need to stay up-to-date, Grambling State University Department  of Mass Communication has seemingly hit every mark but is not finished yet.
This semester alone the university has seen the new GSU Mobile App, GSU updates via e-mail, continuous improvements from the GSU Television Center, The Lab Radio Show and more. It is no secret that this department is growing and striving towards new things.
In that same token, a few graduate students within the department have come together to create Grambling News Network (GNN).
“The project was initiated as a result of some conversations that I had with Mr. Michael Campbell, CEO of ‘The Largest Black-owned Streaming Television Network’ in the world, Black on Purpose Television,” Mass Communication Department Head Dr. Robbie Morganfield said.
Campbell offered Grambling State University the opportunity to develop programming that could be streamed via one of the multiple channels Black on Purpose Television Network has available. One of those channels focuses on education and in particular aims to highlight material about HBCUS.
Morganfield says this project is an opportunity for the department to be engaged in something that is innovative while also providing students an opportunity to further develop their practical skills in a way that positions them to be able to enter into the job market.
“Many of the students are preparing to graduate and so they’re trying to build their portfolios, and this experience is allowing them to do that regardless of what their interest is or what their skill-set may be,” Morganfield said. “Each of them are playing a role as a team and it’s going to allow them to create something that we hope will propel the department and the university forward in a positive way.”
GNN will feature the following segments: health & wellness, beauty tips, “Did You Know?” (Gram trivia), local and campus news and sports.
Janet Jackson, producer and content creator said they wanted to leave something behind to make their mark on the university and hopes the department can keep it going once their gone.
“The mass communication field has so many different parts and with this upcoming network the experience would be very beneficial regardless of what students want to go into,” Jackson said.
“It will help them develop themselves and harness their skills so they can have something to show for once they graduate.”
Anchor Tayler Davis said the practicum class’s objective is to create content for Black on Purpose Television Network, creating a 30-minute newscast.
“Right now there are about eight of us working on this project together,” Davis said. “We also have our PR Team, PR Crossover, that [is] working very well to create a brand for us. It’s very tough with us being a graduate class working on it and then still trying to balance a normal life and other classes too.”
GNN Reporter, Jasmine Kennedy, thinks it’s a good project especially with it being graduate level.
“I think this is a good start. I pray that five years from now the network will be broadcast in a national setting,” Kennedy said.
“I like the innovation that is going on and this will also be a way for the Television Station and the entire department to reconnect with each other.”