Convert .txt or .doc to Javascript data format

New to php. I took over a web site where everything is written in javascript and renders on the browser level. One of the pages is a weekly announcements page that takes an hour to update by hand, copying in the text, then escaping all the "'s etc., then adding the <br> tags for carriage return/line feeds. Is there a php funtion or object that does this automatically?? If so, which and where?? Thank you. --j