Scripps Flips Executive Suite

The E.W. Scripps Company announced a bunch of leadership changes that begin at the top of the power pyramid with former COO Adam Symson, who on August 8 was elevated to President & CEO, succeeding the retiring Rich Boehne. Symson (left) laid out the other moves: Senior Vice President, Broadcast Brian Lawlor (center) is now President, Local Media; VP, Digital Operations Laura Tomlin (right) is now Senior Vice President, National Media; Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Knutson is now EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, and SVP/CFO Tim Wesolowski and SVP/General Counsel William Appleton are now sporting Executive Vice President stripes.

In addition to the company’s 33 television stations and 34 radio stations, Lawlor will now be responsible for the stations’ local digital operations, beginning Jan. 1, 2018. He will also oversee the four Katz multicast networks. The acquisition of those networks is expected to be complete on Oct. 2. Tomlin is responsible for next-generation national news network Newsy; podcast industry leader Midroll and listening service Stitcher; satire and humor brand Cracked; and lifestyle brand SimpleMost as well as the award-winning Scripps Washington Bureau, with its national investigative reporting team and podcast productions. Knutson is taking over corporate development in addition to her current responsibilities.

Surveying his newly enhanced executive team, Symson remarked, “With more choices than ever, today’s media consumers move across different distribution platforms seamlessly, choosing where they want to engage based on how well media brands inform and entertain them. To better align with the way our audiences and advertisers see our businesses, we are positioning the company with a managerial structure built around these local and national marketplaces. Our local brands are well positioned on multiple platforms to deepen the relationships we’ve had in our markets, some going back more than 50 years. Our national businesses are growing quickly, achieving the scale necessary to be meaningful players in the national media landscape.”