News

GSU joins HBCU channel on Sirius XM

Grambling State University has just partnered with Howard University to provide programming to its radio channel for historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).

This partnership provides a unique opportunity for students to produce a radio program for a channel on Sirius XM Radio.

The HBCU Channel, which is featured on Sirius XM Radio Channel 142, is offered by Howard University to highlight and focus on the activities of HBCUs and their contributions to the African Diaspora.

Nine HBCUs currently partner with the HBCU Channel, including American Baptist College, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T, Prairie View A&M University, Tennessee State University and Virginia State University.

Each university provides weekly talk radio programs that air on the HBCU Channel. Stephen Robinson, operations manager of Sirius XM HBCU Network, would like to turn the radio channel into a 24-hour talk radio station.

With only nine university partners, he does not currently receive enough content to fill up all the time slots. Music fills up the remainder, but Robinson is hoping that new programming from Grambling will help fill the gap.

“I know you guys sit around and have conversations at lunch and in dorms about anything from sports to politics to religion to gender roles, dating and relationships. There’s nothing saying that you guys can’t take that conversation and have it recorded on some type of medium to put it out there to the masses for your peers,” said Robinson.

The university is currently looking for students to create content to contribute to the HBCU Channel. The channel is seeking weekly programs that run consistently during the school year that range from 30 minutes to two hours. For every 30 minutes of programming, a producer will provide 28 minutes of content. The additional two minutes will be filled with advertisements.

If you are interested in creating radio content for the HBCU Channel, contact Tracy Wright, director of University Communications, at mediarelations@gram.edu for more information