John Hughes
HOUSTON; ATLANTA; NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (September 7, 2022/Last Updated: September 15, 2022) – John K. Hughes, an icon in public broadcasting administration, programming and engineering diversity, died suddenly this past Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2022, of an apparent heart attack.
A Paul Robeson Scholar and a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Hughes started his career nearly 50 years ago at New Jersey Public Broadcasting, working his way up through the ranks. He later moved on to a Deputy General Manager position with Public Broadcasting Atlanta with WABE and WPBA. John also held several other General Manager positions with WCLK and the sister TV station in Atlanta, as well as at Georgia Public Broadcasting, as the first appointed Black Deputy Director. Later, John moved to Washington, DC, to lead Howard University station WHUT. For the past seven years, he has served as General Manager of KPVU 91.3 at Prairie View A&M University near Houston.
In a past interview with Rolling Out magazine, Hughes described his role in the industry as “… by trade, [I’m] not just a manager, I’m a producer, I’m an editor, I’m a writer. He continued, “I’ve done all these things in this business for both radio and TV.” Yet, what Hughes is most remembered for and was most proud of, was his work as a change agent in advocating for greater diversity in public broadcasting program content and his work mentoring students of color towards careers in broadcasting. He was one of the first General Managers to introduce Latin content and programming in both public TV and radio and was a proponent of the concept of adding Classic Hip Hop, along with Classic Jazz to the program lineup of Jazz-centric public radio stations to attract new audiences, in particular to those stations licensed to HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). His students were always top of mind in his work, and his latest initiative was geared towards instituting a Broadcast Engineering program at Prairie View A&M University to increase the number of Black and Brown engineers and entrepreneurs in the broadcast industry – a missed industry opportunity.
Jim Lyle, former Executive Director of Georgia Public Broadcasting, said, “His willingness to teach and learn from others gained him respect and offered him the opportunity to enact his vision and the vision of others…a proven leader. John will be remembered and missed in the public broadcasting industry.”
A public radio aficionado, John’s music interests varied from Classical to Jazz to Latin, Neo-Soul and Hip Hop, covering such artists as Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon, Gill Scott Heron, Celia Cruz, Donny Hathaway, Grover Washington, Nina Simone, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Gregory Porter and Paul Robeson.
He is survived by a close group of family and friends throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Funeral Mass services will be held on Friday, September 16 at 10 a.m. at St. Paul Parish in Princeton, NJ. A separate Celebration of Life service will be held later in Atlanta, where Hughes spent a great deal of his life and career. A scholarship fund in his name is also in the works.
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