CINCINNATI – M. Denise Kuprionis, corporate secretary and director of legal affairs for The E. W. Scripps Company, has been elected a vice president of the company effective immediately. She also will continue in her role as the company’s compliance officer.Kuprionis, 45, was the first woman elected as an officer of the company when she was named corporate secretary in 1987. “Ms. Kuprionis is a valued member of the Scripps management team whose dedicated service and expertise has contributed to the long-term success of the company,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief executive officer. “Her election as vice president is in recognition of the important role she plays as we position the company for future growth.”Kuprionis joined Scripps in 1978 as secretary to the editor at The Kentucky Post. In 1980 she moved to the company’s corporate headquarters as a secretary. She was promoted in 1985 to the position of executive assistant and began managing executive compensation plans, administrative functions and special projects. In 1994, Kuprionis earned her law degree from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. In 1985 she earned a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational behavior from NKU. She was the 1998 recipient of Northern Kentucky University’s Outstanding Alumnus Award and in 1999 was honored in Cincinnati as a YWCA Career Woman of Achievement.Kuprionis is chairman of the board of trustees of the Work Resource Center. She also is a member of the board of trustees of Children’s Hospital Medical Center; a member of the board of trustees of the National Speaking of Women’s Health Foundation; and a member of the board of directors of the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati.A member of the Cincinnati and American Bar Associations, Kuprionis is a member of the Leadership Cincinnati Alumni Association, which is an affiliated program of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.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 national 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.