BATON ROUGE – One of Louisiana’s oldest media businesses is ushering in its next generation in announcing the appointment of a fourth generation broadcaster to helm the family-owned WBRZ and its array of companies.

Jake Manship was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of WBRZ, KRGV TV Texas and his family’s businesses headquartered in Old South Baton Rouge.

Jake Manship takes over the long-term management of the multi-television station firm from his uncle, Richard Manship, who remains Chairman of the Board overseeing the family’s outlets.  Richard Manship has guided the Louisiana and Texas broadcasting channels for more than forty years.

For the last ten years, the pair have worked together at WBRZ.  Previously, the younger Manship helped manage the family’s print portfolio before the publications were sold.

“My family has remained steadfast in its commitment to quality local journalism and this is yet another reminder to our viewers, digital users and business partners that we are ready to tackle the future with – and for – them,” Richard Manship said about the operational change that supplants the family’s legacy in journalism. 

“My siblings and I are watching the rapid change in our industry.  These are exciting times to embrace what is to come, and appointing Jake to lead our efforts is important.  With Jake, and our aggressive managers at the local level, we are focusing our business efforts to align with those we serve,” Richard Manship added.

WBRZ and KRGV and the stations’ family of channels are among the few remaining broadcast outlets under localized, family control.  WBRZ is the only locally owned television news station in Baton Rouge and one of only two in Louisiana.  Similarly, KRGV is among a handful of Texas’ stations not owned by a conglomerate.

In both states, the Manship family stations program more news than competitors and focus on authentic, local broadcasting, including expanded local news offerings, local sports and, in Texas, Spanish local news and entertainment.

“My family’s commitment to telling stories of the people in our communities dates back a century.  I am excited to lead our businesses into the next generation of broadcasting and streaming,” Jake Manship said.

In the years since Jake Manship joined the management team of his family’s television operation, both WBRZ and KRGV have added newscasts, staff and invested in next generation broadcast equipment.  KRGV in Texas produces the most amount of news in its viewing area, featuring local news in English and Spanish with two news teams.

In Baton Rouge, WBRZ and WBRZ Plus produce more local news and authentic television shows than any other news station in the area.  The station group’s WBTR TV, channel 19 on Cox and available on other cable outlets and with an antenna, has expanded to feature high school sports and Baton Rouge-produced talk radio through a partnership with another family-owned company, Guaranty Media, and 104.5 ESPN.

The Manship family is committed to quality journalism in Louisiana and Texas, and are proud of the deep heritage with Baton Rouge, which includes the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU, the Paula G. Manship YMCA, the Manship Theater in downtown and countless philanthropic endeavors across the region.

If your locally owned business would like to partner with WBRZ and share the pride of being authentically Baton Rouge, click here, to message a business development coordinator.