Scripps Creates National News Division

The staff at Scripps received an internal email from CEO Adam Symson announcing that the company is creating a “national news division”.

Scripps insiders tell FTVLive that this is essentially combining NEWSY, the Washington bureau, and the "national" reporters who create content for local stations...under one giant umbrella.

Maybe the bigger question is will there be streamlining, or expansion?

Here’s the memo, obtained by FTVLive.

Colleagues:

For 144 years, the name Scripps has been synonymous with quality, objective journalism at both the local and the national levels. Today, we are extending the venerable Scripps name to a newly created national news division that combines the power of Newsy, the Local Media national desk and the Washington Bureau into one coordinated organization – the Scripps News division.

By bringing together our national news outlets, we are leveraging our collective resources to create greater value and provide more quality content to our audiences across our over-the-air network and connected TV platforms as well as through our local stations. The division will launch on Jan. 1.

Leading the Scripps News division will be Kate O’Brian, currently head of news for the Scripps Networks division. She will be promoted to executive vice president and will report to me. In addition to leading Scripps News, Kate will continue to oversee Court TV’s editorial strategy.

Before reorganizing Newsy into the only 24/7 over-the-air news network, Kate’s career included senior leadership roles at ABC News and ABC News Radio, including her role as chief liaison for ABC News and local TV stations across the U.S. Kate also was the first woman to run a 24/7 cable news organization, Al Jazeera America.

Scripps News will have a footprint that is decidedly different from the rest of the industry’s typical bicoastal approach to national news. Our national journalists will operate out of headquarters in Atlanta, with bureaus in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Missoula, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa and Tulsa. Scripps’ Washington Bureau, more than 100 years old, will continue to cover the nation’s capital and produce investigative and enterprise stories for all Scripps outlets. Scripps News also will draw upon the reporting of our outstanding local newsrooms. Through Scripps News and our footprint of local newsrooms, The E.W. Scripps Company is now best positioned as a coast-to-coast news operation.

As a full-scale television company, we are committed to using our broadcast reach to ensure Americans have a resource they can turn to for fact-based news and information that improves their lives and informs their most important decisions. I’m proud that our company is in the position it is today to step up when Americans need us most.

We look forward to sharing more details as we move toward our January launch.

Adam Symson (he/him)

President and CEO