Charles E. Scripps (January 27, 1920 – February 3, 2007) was

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the

E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglom ...

, a

media conglomerate A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or ...

founded by his grandfather,

Edward W. Scripps Edward Willis Scripps (June 18, 1854 – March 12, 1926), was an American newspaper publisher. He and his sister Ellen Browning Scripps founded the E. W. Scripps Company, today a diversified media conglomerate, as well as the United Press news ...

. Under his leadership the company was transformed from a family-owned newspaper publisher into a major

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media company with major cable television operations.

Biography

Charles Scripps was born to Robert Paine Scripps and Margaret Culbertson Scripps on January 27, 1920, in San Diego. He attended

The College of William and Mary ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

in Virginia and

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

in California. He began his newspaper career before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a police and courts reporter at ''

The Cleveland Press The ''Cleveland Press'' was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis B. Seltzer. Known for many years as one of the country's most in ...

'', the first newspaper his grandfather founded (in 1878). In the mid-1980s Scripps became an advocate for promotion of

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

. In 1986, the

Scripps Howard Foundation The Scripps Howard Fund is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to the E. W. Scripps Company, an American media conglomerate which owns television stations, cable television networks, and other media outlets. The Fund's m ...

created an annual award in his name to honor literacy efforts by newspapers and broadcast stations.

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

awarded him an honorary doctor of communications degree in 1983, recognizing his contributions to communications and his "championship of

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

worldwide."

External links

Charles Scripps Dies
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine, February 9, 2007. * Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
Great Living Cincinnatians: Charles E. Scripps
2003. (Accessed July 1, 2007) * E.W. Scripps Co.
Charles E. Scripps Dies at 87
(news release), February 3, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Scripps, Charles 1920 births 2007 deaths American newspaper publishers (people) American mass media owners Businesspeople from San Diego Pomona College alumni E. W. Scripps Company people 20th-century American businesspeople