CINCINNATI– Chip Mahaney, an award-winning journalist and veteran news leader who has served in several digital management roles at The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP), is harnessing all of his broadcast experiences to serve as national director of news recruitment, effective Jan. 4.
Mahaney will lead recruiting efforts for top management positions at the 24 Scripps markets with local news. He will focus primarily on openings for news directors, assistant news directors and executive producers, employing his extensive network of connections and developing new relationships with respected news leaders throughout the industry.
“Chip is exactly the right person for this newly created position,” said Sean McLaughlin, vice president of news for Scripps. “He knows this business. He is extremely well-connected in the industry, and he understands the Scripps culture and the types of people who will be successful in our company. Add to that his journalistic instincts and his digital-first mentality, and I have every confidence that he will successfully recruit news managers who will carry out our mission to serve our communities with news and information when and where they want it.”
Mahaney joined Scripps in 2008 as one of the charter members of the TV/digital content team, based in Cincinnati. He has served Scripps as director of digital content, senior director of local operations and most recently as regional general manager for the digital division. Over the years, he has built and managed local digital teams and led journalists to better production of content for Web, mobile and social platforms. He also was instrumental in creating the Scripps national content team, which produces national and international content for use in the local markets.
“I know what it takes to run a successful newsroom, and I especially appreciate the new ways in which our industry must share relevant news and information for an audience that is more demanding and more mobile than ever,” Mahaney said. “I am proof of the Scripps commitment to its employees to develop them for a long and fulfilling career. Now I can carry that message as I build new relationships with the future news leaders of Scripps.”
After graduating from Southern Methodist University with bachelor’s degrees in broadcast news and political science, he worked in a variety of positions in local television news. He was a sports producer at KTBC in Austin, Texas. He was assignment editor at KOTV in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was managing editor at KDFW in Dallas, and news director at WTVR in Richmond, Virginia.
He has received an Edward R. Murrow Award and an Emmy Award and is a nationally-recognized trainer on journalism ethics, newsroom operations, digital and social media. He serves on the Professional Advisory Board for Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. Scripps is one of the nation’s largest independent TV station owners, with 33 television stations in 24 markets and a reach of nearly one in five U.S. households. It also owns 34 radio stations in eight markets. Scripps also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses, including podcast industry leader Midroll Media, over-the-top video news service Newsy and weather app developer WeatherSphere. Scripps also produces television shows including The List and The Now, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the long-time steward of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational program, the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
Investor contact:
Carolyn Micheli, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3732, [email protected]
Media contact:
Valerie Miller, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3023, [email protected]