CINCINNATI – John F. Lansing, vice president and general manager of WEWS-TV in Cleveland, has been named vice president/station operations for The E.W. Scripps Company’s broadcast television station group, effective immediately.Lansing, 43, will oversee the day-to-day operations of the 10 Scripps broadcast television stations. He will report to James M. Hart, senior vice president for Scripps Howard Broadcasting, who will continue to have strategic and policy oversight responsibilities for the Scripps station group.“John Lansing’s experience as an award-winning and creative television station executive is a tremendous asset that we feel compelled to tap for the good of our entire station group,” Hart said. “Under John’s leadership, and largely due to his innovative programming and marketing expertise, WEWS has excelled as Cleveland’s market leader. We’re confident that John can help all of our stations achieve the same quality results.”Ric Harris, 36, general sales manager at WEWS since April 1999, will succeed Lansing as the station’s vice president and general manager. His appointment also is effective immediately. WEWS, an ABC affiliate, is owned and operated by Scripps.Lansing had been the top executive at WEWS since coming to the station in 1997 from Scripps-owned WXYZ-TV in Detroit, where he had served the previous two years as vice president and station manager.Lansing began his broadcast career at the age of 17 as a news photographer for WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky. From there he went on to become the chief news photographer at WAVE-TV in Louisville, Ky., and two years later was named managing editor. In 1986, Lansing was named news director at WWMT-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich., and in 1988 was named assistant news director at KARE-TV in Minneapolis. Two years later he was named news director at the top-rated station in Minneapolis, WCCO-TV. In 1993, Lansing was promoted by CBS to become news director at WBBM-TV in Chicago.Lansing is a 1995 recipient of the Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia University Award for news investigation and was named Gannett Television News Executive of the Year in 1989.Lansing studied marketing and business administration at Bellarmine College in Louisville, the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. He also serves as a visiting faculty member at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. He is a member of the ABC Affiliates Board of Governors and the Scripps Howard Foundation board of trustees.Harris is a native of Cleveland who has spent the majority of his career in the Cleveland market. Before joining WEWS, he was local sales manager for WUAB-TV in Cleveland, a position he held for two years. From 1994-98, he served as national sales manager for Cleveland’s WOIO-TV. He began his broadcasting career as an account executive for WEWS in 1987.Harris is a graduate of John Carroll University where he is currently studying for his master’s degree in communication.The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, cable television programming and interactive media. Scripps operates 20 daily newspapers, 10 broadcast TV stations and three cable television networks, with plans to launch a fourth.Scripps cable television network brands include Home & Garden Television, Food Network, Do It Yourself, and Fine Living, due to launch in the second half of 2001.The company also operates Scripps Howard News Service, United Media, the worldwide licensing and syndication home of PEANUTS and DILBERT, and 31 Web sites, including hgtv.com, foodtv.com, diynet.com and comics.com.