Poynter Online
Go


Top Story

Public TV, Radio Stations to Increase Local Investigative Coverage
Most Recent Articles
1.Poynter's Times Publishing Co. sells Governing
5:15 PM Nov. 20, 2009
2.Recommendation for Fewer PAP Screens Sure to Set Off Controversy
10:32 AM Nov. 20, 2009
3.Gene Patterson to Jack Nelson: Save Us a Desk Up There in That Celestial Newsroom
7:03 AM Nov. 20, 2009
4.Public TV, Radio Stations to Increase Local Investigative Coverage
6:19 AM Nov. 20, 2009
5.Woods: Plagiarism Never Justified
3:47 PM Nov. 19, 2009
Most E-mailed
Recent Comments
Recent Tags
Community Activity

Poynter Training
Poynter Seminars
Small, in-person training experiences.
1.
A New Curriculum for a New Journalism - Jan. 6-8, 2010
Apply by November 23
2.
Multimedia Journalism for College Educators - February 1-5, 2010
Apply by December 14
3.
NewsU: Write Your Heart Out: The Craft of the Personal Essay - January 25-February 19, 2010
Apply by January 4
News University
Today's most popular courses on NewsU, Poynter's e-learning site for journalists.
Webinars
Our online classroom is just a click away. Learn more.
All Webinars

Poynter Forums

View Forum Post

Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 1/15/2007 7:20:17 AM
Title: Scripps CEO says no decision about selling papers
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From: Lowe, Ken
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 5:03 PM
Subject: Note from Ken Lowe, President and CEO, to all Scripps employees

Dear colleagues,

Much has been reported about some comments regarding the Scripps newspaper division that members of the company's senior management team -- including myself -- made at an investor conference earlier this week.

I'd like to take this opportunity to provide a little more perspective on what was said. First, let me set the stage.

The comments were made Tuesday during our participation in the annual Citigroup media conference. The format was a fireside chat with Chief Operating Officer Rich Boehne, Chief Financial Officer Joe NeCastro and me. We were answering questions posed to us by the Citigroup stock analyst who covers Scripps.

Early in the discussion we were asked to share our views on the topic of "deconsolidation." In other words, the analyst who posed the question wanted to know if we would consider restructuring the company in some way that might increase its value to shareholders.

This is a question that we're frequently asked and, as managers of a publicly traded company, we believe it's important to be as forthright and as candid in our answer as possible.

With all of the developments in the newspaper industry of late (the sale of Knight Ridder and the Tribune auction process), our response focused on strategic alternatives as they might relate to Scripps newspapers. Our intention was to let shareholders know how thoughtful the company is being about the newspaper business and its future.

We've long made it a point, in response to such questions, to let shareholders know that we consider the widest range of strategic alternatives possible with the overriding goal being the long-term growth and sustainability of the company.

If you want to know precisely what was said, I encourage you to listen to the archived webcast of the Scripps presentation at scripps.com. (Go to the shareholders link at the top of the Web page. You’ll find a link to the webcast on the shareholder landing page.)

Now, here’s the reason for this memo. I want to emphasize two important points. First, there has been no decision to sell or separate the company’s newspaper division. Scripps is committed to the newspaper business and continues to be sharply focused on the division's top priorities of expanding share and building strong local media franchises.

Second, there are no immediate plans to sell specific Scripps newspapers.

Keep in mind, though, that it's prudent for the company to continuously review the strategic value of our local newspapers as well as our entire portfolio of media businesses. If you look at Scripps over the long term, you know that we've added businesses -- including newspapers -- and divested some. That process will certainly continue.

What didn't get said at the conference this week -- and should have been said -- is that in addition to winning two Pulitzer Prizes, Scripps newspapers in 2006 performed at the top of their peer group in generating ad revenue and led the industry in online revenue growth. We're very proud of their accomplishments.

For all of you, know that we appreciate all that you do for Scripps. Thanks in large part to your efforts, Scripps is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading diversified media companies.

Thank you, and best regards,

Ken

View Complete Forum Topic

Username
Password
New User? Signup Now
Poynter Careers
See All Jobs
Add Your Resume
Post Your Job
Become a Member
More media jobs