Kent Manahan
Acting Executive Director, NJN, and Acting President, NJN Foundation

Kent Manahan has been covering New Jersey for more than three decades as news anchor of the Emmy-Award winning NJN News and reporting on issues and events that affect residents of New Jersey.  On December 4, 2008, Manahan stepped down from her anchor chair and was appointed as the acting executive director of NJN and will serve in that capacity until a permanent successor is named.

As the former senior news anchor of New Jersey Network’s Emmy-Award winning NJN News, Manahan covered New Jersey and reported on issues and events that affect residents of our state on a daily basis. Every weekday evening, she provided in-depth coverage of New Jersey as part of NJN News, the only broadcast news program that covers the entire state.  The five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist reported on issues of statewide importance, including homeland security, education, politics, domestic violence and the elderly.

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.

Manahan’s commitment to her viewers extends beyond the newsroom. She is a dedicated wife and mother of six, but Manahan has still found the time to serve on the Board of Regents of Seton Hall University, the Board of the Tri-county Scholarship Fund and the Educational Opportunity Fund for Disadvantaged Youngsters. She was named spokesperson for the Literacy Volunteers of America in New Jersey. Her many activities underscore her commitment to education, and Manahan can often be found speaking to statewide community organizations and groups of students, encouraging scholastic and vocational endeavors.

Manahan has received many awards during her NJN broadcast career, including five Emmys and the Barbara Boggs Sigmund Woman of Achievement Award. She also received the prestigious Caldwell College Presidential Award for her achievements in broadcast journalism as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from Kean University in 1993 and Richard Stockton College in 1988.

Her other citations include the Virginia Apgar Arts and Literature Award; the first Broadcaster of the Year Award from Montclair State College's DuMont Television Center; New Jersey Communicator of the Year and the Melitta Bentz Award for Women's Achievement. Her reports have also won the New York Deadline Club Award and the Scripps-Howard National Journalism Award.