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Porch & Parish

WBRZ's New Anchor is a Zachary Resident

Jan 07, 2025 10:04AM ● By Lauren Pope

April Davis with co-anchors John Pastorek and Mia Monet

April Davis, a Morning News Anchor at WBRZ Channel 2, started her broadcasting career high in the wilds of Alaska. After a life-changing drive across the United States, she settled into a family-owned news station out of Anchorage. She spent the next six years reporting on everything relevant to the Last Frontier and learned important journalistic lessons like the fact that not everyone wants to be interviewed on television. “I had one man tell me, 'Look, I came to Alaska to hide out, there’s no way I’m showing my face on TV!'” she laughs. 

After leaving Alaska, she worked in the news business at stations across the country, from her native Greenville, South Carolina, to Colorado and Florida. In addition to serving as a reporter and anchor, she also worked behind the scenes to make sure that the important stories of the day were covered. “I love working in journalism,” she says, “I love holding people in power accountable, I love finding and reporting the truth and telling stories that matter to the community.” 

April with her father, Gerald Davis, at their Americana home

April’s father, Gerald Davis, is a resident of Americana. A few years ago, his health took a bad turn and he ended up needing a leg amputation. April came to stay with him while they did home renovations to make his house more accessible, and fell in love with Americana and Zachary. “My dad is a widower. He lived in West Monroe for most of his life where his late wife was from, but retired to Zachary really because of the Americana neighborhood.”

April returned to Florida after the renovations were completed, but she had the nagging feeling that she needed to be closer to her father. “He does well and is very independent, but I wanted him to have family here.” She’d also gotten to know the Zachary community and realized that it was a place like nowhere else she’d ever lived. “People in Zachary are willing to slow down and take the time to talk to you. They were the nicest, kindest people, and would take the time to have real conversations with me, even though I was new.” 

She moved to Americana and waited for the right position to become available. In the meantime, she decided to try her hand as a camp counselor at the Americana YMCA. “Managing dozens of campers is a lot like managing a newsroom,” she says. She was able to see first hand the important work that the YMCA performs in the community, including being involved in their 2nd Grade Learn to Swim program. When she saw a morning news anchor post open up at WBRZ, she jumped at the opportunity. “Morning news is really my passion. We’re telling people important information that they use to plan their days like traffic and weather, and also bringing stories that matter.” 

WBRZ is owned by the Manship family, and is the only family run and operated station in the area. That makes a difference. “WBRZ has been one of the most welcoming news rooms I’ve ever worked in. The people are all supportive of each other and, between us, the morning anchors have over 75 years of experience. The Manship family is incredibly gracious and goes out of their way to make employees feel valued.”

You can catch April Davis and the rest of the 2une In crew from 5AM -7AM Monday - Friday on Channel 2 and from 7AM -9 AM online at WBRZ News 2 Louisiana : Baton Rouge, LA | 2une In