New structure better sharpens focus of each newspaper on superior local content and market-leading ad sales

CINCINNATI, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a move designed to ensure that its 13 daily newspapers put increased emphasis on community-changing local content and peak-performing advertising sales, The E.W. Scripps Company today unveiled the first in a series of organizational changes that will enable faster sharing of best practices, standardization of business processes and more efficient utilization of resources.

In conference calls with investors earlier this year, the company has said it was considering structural changes that would simplify and standardize many business processes and enable the newspaper group to take advantage of its scale. The first step in that process is today's naming of national leaders to key functional roles, including newly created positions to invigorate the focus on content and sales.

"To meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers, we're reorganizing our division to make sure all of our newspapers have a sharpened focus on delivering unrivaled local content across multiple platforms and developing the best sales organization in each of our markets," said Mark G. Contreras, the company's senior vice president of newspapers. "By making ourselves more valuable to our two most important constituencies -- readers and advertisers -- I believe we can continue our important public service mission while providing an economic benefit for our shareholders."

The changes announced today include the creation of an operating committee consisting of two new national positions with responsibility for sales and content, as well as four other positions with responsibility for operations, finance, information technology and human resources. The committee members include:

• Bruce Hartmann, currently president and publisher of the News Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn., will become vice president of sales (print and interactive) effective Sept. 1, 2009. Hartmann will have responsibility for all advertising and circulation revenue across the division, and all Scripps advertising and circulation sales directors will report to him.
  

• Rusty Coats, currently vice president of interactive for the newspaper division, will assume responsibility for all content and marketing areas as well as interactive operations and strategic third-party relationships such as the company's relationship with Yahoo! and other national interactive brands. When he becomes vice president of content and marketing on Sept.