Josh Gorbutt joined KBTX in 2008, beginning on the creative and marketing side of the business. Early in his career, he learned that communication only matters when it reaches the right audience, carries the right tone, and helps move an institution forward. That understanding would shape every role that followed.
As his responsibilities expanded, so did the scope of his work. At CW8 Aggieland, he served as Director of Operations and led a full station relaunch that increased viewership by more than 200 percent, generated record local revenue, and earned recognition as a CW Model Affiliate. The work sharpened his understanding of positioning, audience behavior, brand clarity, and execution at scale.
In 2015, he became News Director at KBTX. Over the next decade, he helped build one of the strongest-performing local news operations in Gray Television's portfolio. He now leads a 50-person organization, manages an enterprise-scale budget, and oversees strategy across broadcast, digital, and streaming platforms. Under his leadership, the newsroom has expanded its footprint, grown total platform reach by more than 50 percent over five years, and earned a National Edward R. Murrow Award, multiple Emmys, and more than 15 regional Murrow Awards.
That record was not built in calm conditions. Josh has spent much of his career guiding teams through severe weather, public-health emergencies, breaking investigations, public accountability reporting, and the daily pressures that come with live journalism. The experience shaped his approach to communications: trust is earned through consistency, clarity matters most when the stakes are high, and strong leaders have to make decisions before all the facts are comfortable.
Trust is earned through consistency. Clarity matters most when the stakes are high. Strong leaders make decisions before all the facts are comfortable.
His leadership has always extended beyond the newsroom. He has worked closely with elected officials, emergency managers, universities, nonprofit institutions, and community leaders across the Brazos Valley. He has served as Past Chair of the Community Foundation of the Brazos Valley and as Chairperson of Leadership Brazos, experiences that deepened his understanding of civic trust, institutional responsibility, and stakeholder stewardship.
Josh has also pursued selective professional development that broadened his perspective on leadership and public communication. He is a Carole Kneeland Fellow, part of one of Texas broadcast journalism's most respected leadership programs, and in 2024 he was selected as a RIAS Berlin Commission Fellow, where he engaged with international media, democracy, and public institutions in Germany and Belgium.