E. W. Scripps Company

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Not to be confused with Scripps League Newspapers, Inc..
See also: Scripps Networks Interactive
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The E. W. Scripps Company
Type Public company
Traded as NYSE: SSP
Industry Broadcast Television/News Publication
Community Educational Services
Founded 1878 (Originally as The Cleveland Penny Press)
Headquarters Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Key people Edward W. Scripps (1854–1926), Founder
Roy W. Howard (1883–1964)
Richard A. Boehne (President & CEO)
Revenue $1.1 billion (2007)
Website www.scripps.com

The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward Willis Scripps in 1922.[1] The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2] Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."[3]

On October 16, 2007, the company announced that it would separate into two publicly traded companies: The E. W. Scripps Company (newspapers, TV stations, licensing/syndication) and Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), (HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Cooking Channel [formerly known as Fine Living], Travel Channel and Great American Country). The transaction was completed on July 1, 2008.

On October 3, 2011 The E.W. Scripps Company announced it was purchasing the television arm of McGraw-Hill for $212 million.[4] This purchase nearly doubles the number of Scripps stations to 19 with a combined reach of 13% of U.S. households.

Contents

Corporate governance [edit]

From 1922 until 2012, the company was governed by the Edward W. Scripps Trust. The company's shares were divided into two types – Class A Common Shares, which were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and common voting shares, which were not publicly traded and elected a majority of the company's directors. A number of media companies, including the New York Times Company and the Washington Post Company, are governed by this system wherein the descendants of the company's founders can keep control of the company. Upon the death of Edward W. Scripps' grandson, Robert Scripps, in 2012 (the last of Edward W. Scripps’ descendants upon whom the duration of the trust was based), the trust was dissolved and its stock will be divided among the surviving trustees.[5]

Scripps newspapers [edit]

In 1997, Scripps bought daily Texas newspapers in Corpus Christi, Abilene, Wichita Falls, San Angelo and Plano, plus the paper in Anderson, S.C. from Harte-Hanks Communications, along with 25 non-daily newspapers and San Antonio-based KENS-TV and KENS-AM.[6] The purchase price was to be between $605 and $775 million, depending on a federal ruling.[7]

The company currently owns and operates newspapers in 13 American markets:

Former newspapers [edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Name City Fate Date Note
Toledo News-Bee Toledo, Ohio closed 01938-08-02August 2, 1938 Remnants of the paper were acquired by The Toledo Blade.
Houston Press Houston, Texas closed 01964-03-20March 20, 1964 Assets were sold to The Houston Chronicle.
Indianapolis Times Indianapolis, Indiana closed 01965-10-11October 11, 1965
New York World-Telegram New York City merged, then closed 01966-04-23April 23, 1966
World-Telegram and Sun
01967-05-05May 5, 1967
World Journal Tribune		 Known as the New York World-Telegram and Sun after 1951, when it purchased the remnants of the New York Sun. After a proposed joint operating agreement between two other newspapers with distinct histories – Hearst's New York Journal American and John Hay Whitney's New York Herald Tribune – collapsed due to union pressure, all three merged to form the New York World Journal Tribune (all three owners had a stake in the publication as "World Journal Tribune, Inc."). The combined paper did not launch for 140 days due to a newspaper strike triggered by the merger, and ultimately folded the following May. Scripps would maintain ownership of the World-Telegram's annual publication, The World Almanac and Book of Facts until 1993, when that was sold to Primedia.
The Washington Daily News Washington, DC sold 01972-08-01August 1972 Sold to, and ultimately merged into, The Washington Star.
Fort Worth Press Fort Worth, Texas closed 01975-01-011975
Cleveland Press Cleveland, Ohio sold 01980-10-31October 31, 1980 The company's first newspaper and original flagship. Merged with the Cleveland News in 1960. Sold to entrepreneur Joseph E. Cole in 1980 after the Cleveland Plain Dealer surpassed it in both circulation and revenue throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Subsequently closed on June 17, 1982.
Memphis Press-Scimitar Memphis, Tennessee closed 01983-10-31October 31, 1983 Afternoon-only daily paper. The paper's roots trace back to 1880; it was acquired by Scripps' antecedent, the Scripps-McRae League, in 1906. Scripps also purchased the city's morning paper, The Commercial Appeal (which it still owns) in 1936.
Columbus Citizen-Journal Columbus, Ohio closed 01983-12-31December 31, 1983 Founded in 1899. Also had its roots in what was one of the first newspapers in Ohio, The Ohio State Journal, which was founded in 1814. Operated as part of a joint operating agreement with The Columbus Dispatch for several decades; Scripps folded the paper after the Dispatch terminated the JOA, and a sale of the paper to Akron-area businessman Nyles V. Reinfeld collapsed.
Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sold 01992-05-17May 17, 1992 Sold to Block Communications, subsequently merged into the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Revived as an online-only paper in 2011.
Thousand Oaks News Chronicle Thousand Oaks, California closed 01995-07-22July 22, 1995 Publication relocated to Camarillo, California and merged with the co-owned Ventura County Star.
Birmingham Post-Herald Birmingham, Alabama closed 02005-09-23September 23, 2005 The paper's roots trace back to the Elyton Herald, founded 21 years before Birmingham's incorporation as a city. Merged with the Scripps-owned Birmingham Post in 1950. Long a morning newspaper, it switched to an afternoon-only publication by request of joint operating agreement partner The Birmingham News (which itself became a tri-weekly in 2012).
dirt Boulder, Colorado closed 02006-01-012006
Cincinnati Post Cincinnati, Ohio closed 02007-12-31December 31, 2007 Distributed in the Covington, Kentucky region as The Kentucky Post; that version was converted to an online-only publication as KYPost.com, which operates to this day.
The Albuquerque Tribune Albuquerque, New Mexico closed 02008-02-23February 23, 2008 Founding owner Carl Magee's slogan for the paper, "Give light and the people will find their own way," and accompanying lighthouse logo, would both be adopted by Scripps after their 1923 acquisition of the paper.
Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado closed 02009-02-27February 27, 2009 Purchased by Scripps in 1926. Folded 55 days prior to its 150th anniversary of publication.
Youngstown Telegram Youngstown, Ohio sold 01936-07-02July 2, 1936 Acquired by the Youngstown Vindicator Printing Company and merged into The Vindicator.
The Daily Camera Boulder, Colorado sold 02009-01-012009 Acquired by Media News Group Inc.
El Paso Herald-Post El Paso, Texas closed 01997-10-11October 11, 1997
San Francisco News San Francisco merged 01965-01-011965 Founded 1903. Merged with the Hearst's San Francisco Call-Bulletin to form The News-Call Bulletin in 1959. Hearst acquired complete control in 1962 and merged it into the San Francisco Examiner in 1965.

Syndicates [edit]

Scripps owns the Scripps Howard News Service and, until 2011, operated United Media (composed of the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association). United Feature Syndicate syndicated many notable comic strips including Peanuts, Garfield, Li'l Abner, Dilbert, Nancy and Marmaduke. NEA, originally established as a secondary news service to the Scripps Howard News Service, later evolved into a general syndicate, and were best known for syndicating Alley Oop, Freckles and His Friends, The Born Loser and Frank and Ernest, in addition to an annual Christmas comic strip.[8] The distribution rights to properties syndicated by United Media was outsourced to Universal Uclick in February 2011. While United Media effectively ceased to exist, Scripps still maintains copyrights and intellectual property rights.[9][10]

Scripps also operated United Press International (United Press from its 1907 inception until a 1958 merger with Hearst's International News Service) until selling it off in 1982.

Broadcasting [edit]

E.W. Scripps' television division currently owns nineteen television stations in fourteen markets.

Scripps also previously owned the Shop at Home home-shopping television network, which in turn owned five television stations. On May 22, 2006, Scripps announced that it was to cease operations of the network and intended to sell each of Shop at Home's five owned and operated television stations.[11] Jewelry Television eventually acquired Shop at Home, but Scripps still intended to sell its affiliated stations. On September 26, 2006, Scripps announced that it was selling its Shop at Home TV stations to New York City-based Multicultural Television for $170 million.[12]

On October 3, 2011, Scripps announced it was purchasing all seven television stations owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies for $212 million; the sale is a result of McGraw-Hill's decision to exit the broadcasting industry to focus on its other core properties, including its publishing unit.[13] This deal was approved by the FTC on October 31[14] and the FCC on November 29.[15] The deal was completed on December 30, 2011.[16]

Television stations [edit]

City of license/Market Station Channel
TV/RF		 Owned Since Affiliation Notes
Phoenix KNXV-TV 15 (15) 1985 ABC Switched from Fox to ABC in 1995 as a part of an affiliation pact between Scripps and ABC (in this case, the Fox affiliation went to KSAZ as part of the New World Communication/Fox pact-turned-acquisition). Other stations noted below were a part of the same agreement.
Bakersfield KERO-TV 23 (10) 2011 ABC Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
KZKC-LP 42 2011 Azteca América Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
San Diego KGTV 10 (10) 2011 ABC Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
KZSD-LP 41 2011 Azteca América Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
Colorado Springs KZKS-LP 23 2011 Azteca América Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
Denver KMGH-TV 7 (7) 2011 ABC Acquired from McGraw-Hill. Switched from CBS to ABC in 1995 as part of the ownership trade between CBS and NBC for NBC's owned-and-operated station, KCNC-TV, itself a side effect of the Westinghouse/CBS affiliation pact-turned-merger brought on by WMAR's affiliation switch (see below).
KZCO-LP 27 2011 Azteca América Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
Ft. Collins, Colorado KZFC-LP 36 2011 Azteca América Acquired from McGraw-Hill.
Tampa – St. Petersburg WFTS-TV 28 (29) 1986 ABC Acquired from Capital Cities Communications as part of the Capital Cities-ABC merger. Switched from Fox to ABC in 1995 (the Fox affiliation went to WTVT in the aforementioned New World Communications/Fox pact).
West Palm Beach WPTV-TV 5 (12) 1961 NBC Also serves as a secondary NBC affiliate for the neighboring Fort Lauderdale market.
WFLX 29 (28) Fox Operated under a shared services agreement with its owner, Raycom Media, since March 2011. WPTV also produces newscasts for WFLX under this agreement.
Indianapolis WRTV 6 (25) 2011 ABC Acquired from McGraw-Hill. Noted for being the only ABC affiliate to air coverage of the Indianapolis 500 in tape-delay to help encourage attendance of the annual event.
Baltimore WMAR-TV 2 (38) 1991 ABC Switched from NBC to ABC in 1995. Because of this switch, Westinghouse Broadcasting – the owners of Baltimore's previous ABC affiliate of 47 years, WJZ-TV – subsequently struck a group-wide affiliation pact with CBS that later turned into a wholesale acquisition with far-reaching implications (see KMGH above). By contrast, neither the Hearst Corporation (which owns CBS-turned-NBC affiliate WBAL-TV) nor Sinclair Broadcasting (owner of FOX affiliate WBFF-TV and CW affiliate WNUV) has an affiliation pact with any network, although most Hearst stations are affiliated with either NBC or ABC, and most Sinclair stations are affiliated with either FOX or ABC.
Detroit WXYZ-TV 7 (41) 1986 ABC Built and signed-on by ABC, and was a key owned-and-operated station for the network in its infancy. Acquired from ABC as part of the Capital Cities-ABC merger. Newscasts have been identified as "Channel 7 Action News" since 1972, but otherwise based on the Eyewitness News formula used by other ABC O&Os. Iconic newscaster Bill Bonds was based at WXYZ throughout the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. The second station to adopt the "Circle 7" logo, in continuous use since 1962.
Kansas City, Missouri — Lawrence, Kansas KSHB-TV 41 (42) 1977 NBC Switched from Fox to NBC in 1994.
KMCI-TV 38 (41) 2001 Independent
Cincinnati WCPO-TV 9 (22) 1949 ABC Built and signed-on by E.W. Scripps. Switched from CBS to ABC in 1995.
Cleveland – Akron WEWS-TV 5 (15) 1947 ABC Built and signed-on by E.W. Scripps. The first television station to sign on in Ohio, the first station owned by Scripps (the callsign is a tribute to E.W. Scripps), and the flagship of Scripps' television station group. An ABC affiliate since 1954. Originated the long-running local breakfast television program The Morning Exchange, which ABC used to create Good Morning America. Pioneering female journalist/interviewer Dorothy Fuldheim was at the station from its inception until 1984.
Tulsa KJRH-TV 2 (8) 1971 NBC

Former Scripps-owned stations [edit]

Television stations [edit]

City of license/Market Station Channel
TV / DT		 Years Owned Current Status
San Francisco KCNS 38 / 39 2002–2006 MundoFox affiliate owned by NRJ TV
(managed by Titan TV Broadcast Group)
Bridgeport, CT – New York City WSAH 43 / 42 2002–2007 WZME, a Me-TV affiliate owned by NRJ TV
(managed by Titan TV Broadcast Group)
Lawrence – Boston, MA WMFP 62 / 18 2002–2007 Me-TV affiliate owned by NRJ TV
(managed by Titan TV Broadcast Group)
Wilson – Raleigh – Durham, N.C. WRAY-TV 30 / 42 2002–2006 Tri-State Christian Television owned-and-operated (O&O)
Canton – Cleveland, OH WOAC 67 / 47 2002–2006 WRLM, Tri-State Christian Television owned-and-operated (O&O)
Memphis WMCT/WMC-TV ** 5 / 5 1948–1993 NBC affiliate owned by Raycom Media
San Antonio KENS-TV ++ 5 / 39 1997 CBS affiliate owned by Belo Corporation

Radio stations [edit]

Market Station Current Status
Baltimore WBSB-FM-104.3 WCHH, owned by Clear Channel Communications
Cincinnati WCPO-1230 WDBZ, owned by Radio One
WUBE-FM-105.1 ** owned by Hubbard Broadcasting
Cleveland WEWS-FM-102.1 ** WDOK, owned by CBS Radio
Portland, Oregon KUPL-970 KUFO, owned by Alpha Broadcasting
KUPL-FM-98.5 owned by Alpha Broadcasting
Knoxville, Tennessee WNOX-990 WNML, owned by Cumulus Media
Memphis WMPS-680 WMFS, owned by Entercom
WMC-970 owned by Entercom
WMC-FM-99.7 ** owned by Entercom
San Antonio, Texas KENS-1160 ++ KRDY, owned by Disney/ABC

Notes:
** indicates a station that was built and signed-on by E.W. Scripps
++ indicates a station that was owned by Scripps but operated by Belo Corporation (via a time brokerage agreement) during Scripps' ownership

National Spelling Bee [edit]

Main article: Scripps National Spelling Bee

Scripps also operates the national (US) spelling bee. The final competition is in Washington, DC and it is broadcasted on ESPN and ABC. Lower levels are organized by the school, then county and eventually to the final competition.[citation needed]

Controversies [edit]

Scripps Local News has taken down several of NASA's YouTube videos on copyright claims, including the recent Curiosity rover landing.[17][18] These videos contained nothing but footage filmed and broadcast by NASA themselves.

Scripps owns and operates the The Commercial Appeal, which posted a controversial database listing Tennessee residents with permits to carry handguns.[19] The database is a public record in Tennessee, but had not previously been posted online.

Scripps owns and operates the Ventura County Star, which has faced many complaints involving its circulation practices rather than its editorial content. As of April 2, 2011, the Better Business Bureau listed ten (10) separate "significant" complaints from the previous three years, of which two alleged the company made unauthorized debits from customers' checking accounts, four alleged problems obtaining refunds, two alleged the company harassed a customer or former customer, two alleged improper billing, and two alleged delivery continuing after customers tried to cancel.[20] (The total number of allegations does not add to the total number of complaints because two complaints made multiple allegations.)

In May 2013, Scripps News Service discovered and published a security breach on the websites of Oklahoma-based TerraCom Inc. and an affiliate, YourTel America Inc. in which the personal information of tens of thousands of low-income Americans was publicly exposed. In response, the two companies accused Scripps of "hacking" and of violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.[21][22] The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan subsequently announced an investigation into the two companies.[23]

Images [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "EW Scripps Co (SSP) Company Profile | Reuters.com". reuters.com. Retrieved September 25, 2012. 
  2. ^ "SSP Profile & Executives – EW Scripps Co – Bloomberg". bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 18, 2012. 
  3. ^ Osborne, Kevin (February 21, 2007). "Cover Story: The Light Dims". Cincinnati CityBeat (Cincinnati, Ohio: Lightborne Publishing). Retrieved 2011-08-28. "The corporate motto for Cincinnati-based media chain E.W. Scripps Co. is 'Give light and the people will find their own way,' which the lighthouse logo has come to symbolize." 
  4. ^ http://escrippsnews.scrippsnet.com/articles/569-scripps-to-buy-nine-tv-stations-from-mcgraw-hill
  5. ^ http://www.scripps.com/press/details?id=1271
  6. ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1997-05-20/business/fi-60697_1_e-w-scripps Scripps to Acquire Harte-Hanks Outlets
  7. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/20/business/scripps-to-buy-harte-hanks-media-assets.html Scripps to Buy Harte-Hanks Media Assets
  8. ^ List of NEA Christmas strips (1936–2010), with credits
  9. ^ Universal Uclick to Provide Syndicate Services for United Media, PR Newswire, February 24, 2011.
  10. ^ United Media Outsources Content to Universal Uclick, Editor & Publisher, April 29, 2011.
  11. ^ "Scripps ceasing Shop at Home operations" (Press release). E. W. Scripps Company. May 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  12. ^ "Scripps sells Shop at Home TV stations" (Press release). E. W. Scripps Company. September 26, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  13. ^ McGraw-Hill Sells TV Group To Scripps, TVNewsCheck, October 3, 2011.
  14. ^ FTC OK With Scripps/McGraw-Hill
  15. ^ Scripps Purchase Of McGraw-Hill TVs
  16. ^ "Scripps completes McGraw-Hill Stations Buy". TVNewsCheck. December 30, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011. 
  17. ^ Scripps Local News Removing NASA Videos From YouTube
  18. ^ NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain on YouTube
  19. ^ public record (November 8, 2008). "Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit Database". The Commercial Appeal (Memphis). Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
  20. ^ "Significant Complaints", The Better Business Bureau of Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, Inc.
  21. ^ "My Social Security Number Is Posted Where?". NPR. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013. 
  22. ^ "Investigative journalists threatened with felony for exposing security flaw". RT. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013. 
  23. ^ "Illinois AG to review online privacy breach". Knoxville News Sentinel. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013. 

External links [edit]

The E.W. Scripps Company
Corporate leadership
Newspapers
Television stations
ABC affiliates
Azteca América affiliates
NBC affiliates
Other (affiliation)
Other holdings
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