IN THE BEGINNING

Edward W. Scripps, founder of The E.W. Scripps Company, was a self-styled protector of the public. He saw the business and editorial functions of a newspaper as intertwined: Without business, there could be no revenue, and without revenue, there could be no newspaper. At the same time, however, without a newspaper whose content drew readers, there could be no circulation, and without circulation, no profits, no business, no paper.

The danger, Scripps cautioned sons James and Robert in 1919, was that a newspaper's business interests might overcome its journalistic interests, and in so doing, "lose its soul."

Scripps saw the balance between "Scylla and Charybdis" ­ between business and journalism, between excessive concentration on profit on one hand, versus too much attention to a newspaper's public servant role on the other ­ as the only route to a newspaper's survival and health. Newspapers, if they are to be healthy, he said, cannot afford the luxury of too much weight on either side of the business-journalism fulcrum.

Rather, Scripps said, newspapers have a responsibility both to serve the public and to prosper. If newspapers are to survive and yet fulfill their social role, they must do so, he said, without either selling their souls, or giving them away.

AT THE
MILLENNIUM

In 1996, William R. Burleigh addressed Scripps managers for the first time as chairman of the board. "The 45 years I have spent with his company have given me ... a certain historical perspective," he said. "I have seen us evolve from a family-owned business to a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. I have watched our culture evolve... All of you may not be fans of what being a public company demands, but on balance I'd argue that the process made us better ... Since 1988 not only is our financial performance better, but so is our creative performance ... there's a bullish sentiment on how well the 'new Scripps' will fare in the years leading to a new century ...

"First and foremost, we have some terrific talent in this company ... Secondly, I think we have an exceptionally attractive portfolio of assets ... Thirdly, we have a clear strategic plan. In the simplest terms, the plan is this: fortify our mature businesses while building the new ones."

WHO WE ARE:

The E.W. Scripps Company operates nine large-market television stations; daily newspapers in 20 markets, two television production companies; one of the world's largest licensing and syndication companies; two 24-hour cable television networks; and one of the world's largest supplemental news services.

Company stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SSP. Advertising Age magazine lists Scripps among the 25 largest media companies in the country.

WHAT WE DO:

According to our mission statement, The E.W. Scripps Company "aims at excellence in the products and services we produce and responsible service to the communities in which we operate. Our purpose is to continue to engage in successful, growing enterprises in the fields of information and entertainment. The company intends to expand, to develop and acquire new products and services, and to pursue new market opportunities. Our focus shall be long-term growth for the benefit of shareholders and employees."

WHY THE LIGHTHOUSE:

The origin of the Scripps lighthouse is credited to the late Carl C. Magee, editor and publisher of the New Mexico State Tribune, now The Albuquerque Tribune. Magee wrote a page-one column in The Tribune under the headline "Turning on the Light." The column eventually appeared under a lighthouse and the line , "Give light and the people will find their own way." Scripps bought The Tribune in 1923 and adopted the lighthouse and slogan as its trademark in 1927. A new trademark, a stylized lighthouse, was adopted in 1985 to reflect the Scripps of today.

WHERE WE'VE COME:

The E.W. Scripps Company was founded in 1878 by Edward W. Scripps, who helped shape mass media in editing and producing daily newspapers for the broad audience.

During the past 120 years, the company has reinvented itself many times. In the 1930s, Scripps entered radio and in the '40s was a broadcast pioneer, putting some of the first TV stations on the air. In the 1950s, Scripps was one of the first real "licensors," when it began commercial application of the Peanuts comic characters. In the 1970s, Scripps was an early cable system operator and by the late '80s had grown to be a top 20 multiple system operator. The cable systems were sold to Comcast in 1996 in a move back to content. Now, in the late 1990s, Scripps is again building new businesses through a strategy called category television.