When I quit my first post-graduate job at iHeartMedia on April 1, 2021, I vowed that I would somehow make HBCU Pulse work. My goal coming out of Fort Valley State University in December 2019 was to work on HBCU Pulse full-time and scale it into a prominent media entity representing HBCU culture. Life humbled me though. Even before the pandemic changed life as we know it I struggled to find my how and why in my pursuit to independent success. HBCU Pulse has the followers, statistics to back up our excellent coverage of Black College Life and notoriety in HBCU circles. Now, all we needed was money.
Every stop on your journey to success is important. It gives you knowledge on where you are and where you need to go to get to your dreams. Working as an Account Executive at iHeartMedia showed me how the traditional media world was changing. The internet placed power in the hands of creators. Podcasting became the home of personality and diverse points of view. Streaming broke up the monopoly that network and cable companies had on the industry and opened up new avenues to engage audiences. I knew I wanted HBCU Pulse to capitalize on this new media revolution. Now, we’re here.
I’m pleased to announce to the HBCU Pulse Family that we’re partnering with Urban Edge Network & HBCU League Pass Plus to usher in a new era for our brand. We will be partnering with Urban Edge Network to increase our corporate outreach and advertising opportunities so we can continue to scale our business and provide top-of-the-line coverage of HBCU life, news, sports and culture. Also, HBCU League Pass Plus will be a distributor of our originally curated content. We will have a channel on the OTT service where you will see the best content of the past five years from our platforms such as my interview with The Shade Room Founder Angie Nwandu, The Battle Of The DJs tournament that featured talented DJs such as viral TikTok sensation Rayymon Beatz and DJ J. Glove, our best Instagram Takeovers and more. Plus, we have a whole lot more content coming and space for HBCU content creators to have their videos aired.
When I learned about Urban Edge Network and HBCU League Pass Plus, I knew that I wanted HBCU Pulse to work with them in some way. Black media ownership is important, especially in a media ecosystem that is forever fractured because of the abundance of viewing options in the marketplace. I saw that Roland Martin did business with Urban Edge, as he publicly stated on his show #RolandMartinUnfiltered many times that they sold advertising and sponsorships for his OTT platform “The Black Star Network” . I saw that creators I supported such as Scottay of Offscript TV, Dr. Kenyatta Cavil and the Black College Sports Network and Kevin Frazier and his brand Hip Hollywood on the HBCU League Pass Plus platform and wanted Pulse to venture out in that same way. After research, consideration, and discussions with the stakeholders of our team we pursued this amazing opportunity.
I want our partnership with Urban Edge Network & HBCU League Pass Plus to be the start of a new era for our brand. I always saw us as more than just another social media page that shared pictures, screenshots of tweets and TikToks. We’re content creators and aggregators of the highest order. We are a media company that aims to utilize every platform we can to amplify our culture and inform our Pulse Family. But, more than anything, I want to continue to amplify the voices of student leaders, entrepreneurs and creators. We aim to use the platform afforded to us by Urban Edge Networks to continue to give back to our HBCU Pulse Family that’s always supported us.
Please make sure to check out the amazing institutions and creators on HBCU League Pass Plus. Learn more about our partnership in the official press release here!
