Trenton, NJ – NJN News anchor Kent Manahan is a featured guest on David Allen’s BBC Radio weekend program this Saturday, January 20, to talk about the state of New Jersey as part of Allen’s Focus USA feature that links BBC Radio with radio stations across America. Manahan will have the opportunity to share her insights about the Garden State, from its landscapes and tourist destinations to its standard of living and political climate. The program will be web cast at www.bbc.co.uk/dorset on Saturday, January 20 at 5:30 pm (EST). More information about the program is available at njn.net. Along with Focus USA, Allen’s radio program features Focus UK, regular celebrity interviews, The Connection Competition, a handpicked Musical of the Night, and music to relax by with the sounds of Midnight Classic. For more information on David Allen and his radio program, visit David Allen.

Kent Manahan has previous broadcast experience with the UK. In 1987 she participated in an exchange program with a public television station in the British Channel Islands. Based on the Isle of Jersey, from whence New Jersey gets its name, Manahan anchored and reported the “Stories of the Day” for the station’s nightly news broadcast.

Manahan has been covering New Jersey for more than two decades, reporting on the events and issues that affect residents of our state. Every weekday evening, she provides in-depth news on New Jersey issues as part of NJN News, the only broadcast news program covering the entire state with an “all New Jersey” news, politics, business, health and science format.

Manahan's broadcast responsibilities at NJN include much more than her anchor duties. She has established a reputation for excellence in broadcast journalism. And her commitment to the state of New Jersey extends well beyond a journalist's concerns – particularly in the area of education. She was named spokesperson for the Literacy Volunteers of America in New Jersey and can often be found speaking to statewide community organizations and groups of students, encouraging their scholastic and vocational endeavors. She hosted Powerful Women Powerful Voices, an NJN special on women in leadership, and she reported challenging new opportunities for young girls in the fields of math and science. Her nationally broadcast documentary entitled Battered Wives, Shattered Lives told a compelling story of the damage caused by domestic abuse. Counselors fielded thousands of calls during a live national call-in that followed the program, which received an award from the International film and TV Festival of New York. After working on this special, Manahan became actively involved with the New Jersey Battered Women's Shelter. She has also interviewed and profiled a number of leading celebrities and newsmakers including actress-model Brooke Shields, actors Ray Liotta and Olympia Dukakis, talk show host Maury Povich, former President George Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle, former US Senator Bill Bradley, and most recently, New Jersey Chief Justice Deborah Poritz as she retired following a 10-year tenure on the Court.

With more than 5,000 broadcasts under her belt, Manahan has received many awards during her tenure with NJN. She was honored with five Emmys, as well as the prestigious Caldwell College Presidential Award for her achievements in broadcast journalism and telecommunications. She is also the recipient of honorary doctorate of law degrees from Kean College in 1993 and Richard Stockton College in 1988.

Her other citations include the Virginia Apgar Arts and Literature Award; the Woman of Achievement Award from Kean College; the first Broadcaster of the Year Award from Montclair State College's DuMont Television Center; the Woman of the Year Award from the Ironbound (Newark) Manufacturers Association; and the Melitta Bentz Award for Women's Achievement. Her reports have also won the Deadline Club Award and other respected honors, such as the Scripps-Howard National Journalism Award.

NJN News with Kent Manahan is broadcast weeknights on NJN Public Television & Radio at 6 pm, 7:30 pm and 11 pm. The program is also web cast simultaneously at njn.net.

NJN is available on all New Jersey cable systems, satellite systems, and Time Warner Cable channel 750 in NYC.
The half-hour program is also available via video streaming at njn.net after the original broadcast.
Additionally, the program is repeated on NJN’s JerseyVision available on Comcast Digital Cable in New Jersey.
(Check http://www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html for detailed listings.)
NJN – Uniquely New Jersey
###