CINCINNATI – After more than two decades at the helm, Paul Knue is stepping down as editor of The Cincinnati Post. He will be succeeded, effective May 1, by Mike Philipps, a Post news executive since 1986. Knue first joined The Post in 1970 and was named editor of The Kentucky Post in 1979. He became editor of The Cincinnati Post four years later and assumed the leadership of both newspapers in 1995. The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post are operated by The E.W. Scripps Company. ”I grew up reading The Post,” said Knue, a native of Lawrenceburg, Ind., ”so being named editor was a dream come true. But I’ve done this for a very long time. It’s time for me to do something else.” Knue, 53, will serve briefly as a consultant for Scripps before taking early retirement. Philipps, 54, has been city editor of The Cincinnati Post since 1989, assuming the title assistant managing editor/Cincinnati in 1996. He joined the newspaper in 1977 as a reporter and also has worked as an assistant city editor, as an editorial writer and as news editor. ”I believe there are few higher callings than that of newspaper editor,” Philipps said. ”I am both excited and awed by this opportunity.” Knue has been a Scripps editor longer than all but one of the other editors in the company, said Alan Horton, Scripps’ senior vice president/newspapers. ”He is a wise and distinguished journalist and an effective leader whose efforts not only at The Post but also in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky community have made this a better place for all of us,” Horton said. ”Local government is more responsive, schools are doing a better job and the arts are more appreciated because of the efforts of editor and citizen Knue.” Knue, an avid bicyclist and boater, has been active in the community, particularly in groups supporting Greater Cincinnati’s urban areas. He helped found both Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and SouthBank Partners, the Northern Kentucky development organization. He also has been a leader in groups that promote cycling, boating, education and literacy. He was a member of the boards of several foundations, including the Scripps Howard Foundation and the foundation of the Covington Business Committee. Knue has been a leader in professional journalism organizations and served on the boards of the Kentucky Press Association and the Associated Press Society of Ohio, of which he also was president. Before being named editor of The Post, Knue was managing editor of The Evansville (Ind.) Press from 1975 to 1979. A graduate of Murray State University, Knue and his wife, Lissa, are the parents of two grown daughters. ”This transition is the hand-off of responsibility from one highly respected, experienced editor to another,” Horton said. ”In the newsroom, Mike Philipps is seen as the ‘go to’ person. He is energetic, enthusiastic, decisive and he has a clear vision for The Post.” Philips is a native of Muncie, Ind., and graduated from high school in Lima, Ohio. He received a bachelor’s degree from the Virginia Military Institute in 1968. Upon graduation he was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Army, where he served in the Military Intelligence branch, serving in Vietnam and reaching the rank of captain. Before coming to The Post he was a reporter for The Lima News, where he met his wife, Carole, a former editor of The Post’s Living section. They live in Anderson Township. The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks and interactive media. Scripps operates 21 daily newspapers, 10 broadcast TV stations and three cable television networks, with plans to launch a fourth.Scripps national 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.