Students in ULM’s mass communication department rank Hawk TV as a success after its debut on Feb. 14.

Hawk TV is the student based news broadcast on Family Friendly TV in Monroe. It offers content specifically centered around ULM and its students.

Since most of the students involved with Hawk TV are in mass communication, it can provide a good experience for students to list on their resumes. It also shows employers that ULM has students ready for jobs in the media after graduation, according to Vice President for Academic Affairs Eric Pani.

“Hawk TV is a great vehicle for the university community and the region, allowing everyone to see what’s happening on our campus,” Pani said.

The students are satisfied with their debut episode but strive to improve each episode. Improving the quality of their audio, trying to cut out background noise, get better shots and use better questions are all changes they want to make for future episodes.

Kylie Stracener, a senior mass communication major, said the program is helping her grow her skills.

“One of the toughest parts has definitely been learning how to form questions and write scripts. Before this, I have never really been confident in my writing but I just have to put that aside,” Stracener said.

A’kai Solomone said she enjoys working with all the other students to produce news for the campus community.

“The most enjoyable part of Hawk TV is shooting on Thursdays. The whole staff is there and we all get to help with the show and we stay really late working on it so it will be perfect for ULM,” said Solomone, also a mass communication major.

Stracener said there’s a lot to like about working at Hawk TV.

“I’ve gotten to interview several different professors, international students, athletes and people I don’t really see or hang out with all the time, so just getting to learn about them is awesome,” she said.

Hawk TV airs on Comcast channels 78 and 229, Bayou Cable channel 4 and Suddenlink channel 5.