Her Story
About Bria
Bria Manning is a multimedia journalist and sports editor with over six years of experience in the field. She currently serves as Multimedia Producer at Lee Enterprises, supporting local news across more than 70 U.S. markets through sports video, newsletters, and audience engagement. She recently completed a fellowship with the Associated Press Sports Editors, building skills in journalism leadership and digital media. Previously, she worked as Sports Editor at The Montana Standard, Associate Editor at ESPN, and Editor In Chief and Lead Copy Editor at 22 West Media. She holds a Master's in Journalism from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor's in International Studies and Political Science from California State University, Long Beach. She attributes her success to her curiosity and self-driven pursuit of new challenges, such as completing the fellowship independently to connect with other sports professionals and gain skills. Bria values respect in newsrooms and advises young women entering the male-dominated field of sports journalism to ask questions and reach out to others for mentorship and learning.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Bria
01What do you attribute your success to?
My curiosity. I'm always looking for ways to include myself, elevate myself, and challenge myself. It's very easy for me to get comfortable and bored, so I'm always looking for ways to challenge myself. For example, I just finished a fellowship with the Associated Press Sports Editor that nobody pushed me to do. It was something I looked into myself because I was interested in exploring other ways to connect with other sports professionals and gain new skills and experiences. Looking for ways to improve myself often involves connecting with other people and hearing how they got to where they're at.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Because sports journalism can be so male-dominated, don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to reach out to people. Ask them to go for a cup of coffee and just talk about things, learn more about their journey. Everybody has questions, and the people who exhibit the highest levels of leadership are often the ones asking the questions.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Sports journalism can be so male-dominated that oftentimes I felt like I shouldn't ask the question because I wanted to be seen on a certain type of level.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Respect. I've been in lots of newsrooms where I was oftentimes the youngest person surrounded by veteran journalists. It's important to show respect to people, whether it's the folks above me or young students coming in. Everybody's bringing different value and something to share to the table.
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