Southern University Chancellor John Pierre beamed as he signed the Federal Communications Commission document marking the transition from WTQT to WSUB, the new call sign of the university\u2019s very own radio station.<\/p>\n
A banner emblazoned with the new station logo, a Southern jaguar wearing headphones, hung in the crowded office space on Government Street, along with posters for old NAACP marches and gospel music flyers. Observers cheered when the transfer was final in the eyes of the FCC, at 12:34 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A WSUB 106.1 LPFM \u201cThe Bluff\u201d banner hangs above a studio room at the grand opening event at the WSUB radio station on Government Street on Friday, August 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
Javier Gallegos<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the kind of opportunity that can transform the lives of our students,\u201d Pierre said. \u201cThis is all part of the transformation of Southern University to become the institution that is looking outward to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a blazing August day and celebratory moment for Southern and Baton Rouge community leaders, who gathered to formally unveil the new station, which will offer programming\u00a024 hours a day, seven days a week and be operated by students from the largest historically Black college in Louisiana.<\/p>\n
Students in the Department of Mass Communication will work at the station, called WSUB 106.1 LPFM \u201cThe Bluff.” It will replace the gospel station WTQT and offer a blend of genres, including hip-hop, R&B and pop as well as gospel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nicolette Gordon, Operations Manager for WSUB, speaks during an interview in a studio room at the grand opening event for WSUB radio station on Government Street on Friday, August 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
Javier Gallegos<\/p>\n
Nicolette Gordon, operations manager for the new station, said students will have the opportunity to develop their communication skills and learn how to use the radio equipment. The station will provide hands-on training for students interested in podcasting, audio production, radio and media careers, according to a university release.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to prepare our students to compete in any market as it pertains to communications and finding and gainfully keeping employment,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
Students also will gain knowledge of the ins and outs of FCC regulations and media management, said Ernest Johnson, president of the Louisiana Community Development Capital Fund, which owns the license for the station and entered into a cooperative endeavor agreement with Southern.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ernest Johnson, President of Louisiana Community Development Capital Fund and Former President of Louisiana NAACP, speaks during the grand opening event at the WSUB radio station on Government Street on Friday, August 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
Javier Gallegos<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the students should become aware of the ownership of the broadcast stations, how they operate, how the board of directors operates, how offices operate,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI think they should get a full teaching and understanding and appreciation of one of the most major industries that we have, which is media.\u201d<\/p>\n
The medium and the message<\/p>\n
For Johnson, also former president of the NAACP in Louisiana, there is a connection between mass communication and justice work.<\/p>\n
He recalled growing up in Ferriday, where he and his siblings \u2014 14 all together \u2014 read out loud to his grandmother, who was illiterate. The experience, he said, taught him about the power and necessity of words.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A drawing of Martin Luther King Jr. hangs above a plaque commemorating NAACP founders at the WSUB radio station on Government Street on Friday, August 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
Javier Gallegos<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think it could be a better world if we can get everybody to understand each other,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentiment lingers around the radio station, once the office where state NAACP members organized.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I learned in the early stage of the NAACP was you\u2019ve got to be able to communicate,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be able to crystallize your message and get your message out, so people understand. Because misunderstanding is the worst thing in the world, right?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Southern University Chancellor John Pierre beamed as he signed the Federal Communications Commission document marking the transition from…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":112648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[171,975,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-112647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114958542074276242","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}