The Advocate

John Georges, who took over a small family company and transformed it into a billion-dollar business, completed a deal May 7, 2013 to buy The Advocate.Georges named two veteran Louisiana journalists as senior executives. Georges said he will serve as publisher of The Advocate and he named Dan Shea as general manager and Peter Kovacs as editor. Georges said he will meet Wednesday with the newspaper’s 450 employees.“The Advocate is a strong brand with dedicated employees and a supportive community,” Georges said. “In addition to one of the newest and most state-of-the-art print production facilities in the industry, The Advocate has impressive digital capabilities. Together, these components ensure The Advocate will thrive for a long time to come.”David Manship, who was publisher of The Advocate, said while it was a “sad day” to sell his interest in a newspaper he had been involved with for 40 years, it is going into good hands. “John is a very capable businessman,” Manship said. “He’s a true Louisianian and he will do an excellent job to carry on the tradition that the paper has established.”