CINCINNATI – Julia Shell Aguilar, director of management development for The E.W. Scripps Company and former publisher of the San Luis Obispo County (Calif.) Telegram-Tribune, has been named general manager of The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel, effective Jan. 1.Aguilar will assist in overseeing construction of a new plant for the Knoxville newspaper. She has experience managing during construction of a newspaper plant, having overseen construction of a new building during her tenure as publisher in San Luis Obispo. Scripps, which formerly owned the newspaper in San Luis Obispo, owns and operates The News-Sentinel.Construction of the new plant in Knoxville is expected to begin in February. In addition to her involvement in the construction project, Aguilar will oversee circulation, production and human resources, all operations that will first be affected by the transition into the new building. Aguilar will report to Bruce R. Hartmann, president and publisher of The News-Sentinel. Hartmann said the position of general manager was established to accommodate the increase in responsibilities that is anticipated when construction of the building gets underway.“Julia comes to Knoxville with a great deal of experience, both in operations and in human resource management,” Hartmann said. “Her experience includes building a new facility, and she excels at team building and managing change. These are skills that will be critically important as we build and move into our new surroundings.” Alan M. Horton, senior vice president/newspapers for Scripps, said “Julia was a superb publisher when she was in California, and she’s done a great job in her current position, but we need her back on the front lines. She brings all of the right skills to this new assignment.”Aguilar has been director of management development for Scripps since 1998, accepting the position after Scripps traded the Telegram-Tribune and another California newspaper for the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo. Working out of Scripps corporate human resources offices in Cincinnati, she has been responsible for corporate-wide planning, development and implementation of management training programs.Greg Ebel, vice president of human resources for Scripps, said “Julia has been an important member of our staff. She created an effective skills training program for the company’s first-line supervisors and, as an operator, has provided valuable perspective on a broad range of human resource issues.”Aguilar served as president, and then publisher, of the Telegram-Tribune from 1990-98. Prior to that, she was director of human resources for the John P. Scripps Newspapers (1987-90); vice president of human resources for the Los Angeles Daily News (1984-87); and director of human resources for the Times-Advocate in Escondido, Calif. (1982-84.)Aguilar has a master’s degree in social work administration and a bachelor’s degree in sociology/psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, cable 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 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.