BATON ROUGE - WBRZ is celebrating its 70th anniversary on the air with Retro Week, a look back at seven decades of covering Baton Rouge and the rest of the capital region.

WBRZ's Chairman of the Board, Richard Manship, discussed the importance of the station being locally owned.

"That is rare because as we know, in this day and age, it's all about the money. The more properties you have, the more profitability you have because you can get rid of people. We've just chosen not to take that route. Community is important to us," Manship said.

Manship said the money made at WBRZ stays in the community, whether it be through the owners or the business donating to non-profits.

Manship also reflected on the station being in operation for its 70th year.

"Growing up, I think as a kid, you think, 'Well, when I get out of school, I'll work in the family business,' that's just what I always thought and that's the way it turned out," Manship said.

He also reflected on his father, Douglas Manship Sr., and his vision for WBRZ.

"He always preached community," Manship said. "This is a privilege we have, this is not just 'we went out and started out a business,' licenses are handed out by the federal government and there are only a couple of them. It is a privilege and you need to serve the community."

Manship also discussed other endeavors the family pursued, including the Manship Theatre, which he, his brothers and his sisters started to honor his father, who he called a "lover of the arts." He also noted that the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU was started to support journalism.

He also discussed his advice to his nephew and current WBRZ CEO, Jake Manship, on how to keep the station successfully running for the future.

"Do your thing," Manship said. "These are different generations. They think differently than we do, and we have to understand that. We can't sit back and say, 'This is the way I did it and it was successful and that's the way it is.' That's not the way it is, we have to understand that generation, how they do things, and offer advice if asked."

He said in the news industry, staying with the times and telling a story are amongst the most important things. 

"When you give the news, you have to tell a story. Don't just present the facts out there," Manship said.