CINCINNATI – Lori A. Hickok, chief corporate development analyst for The E. W. Scripps Company, has been named vice president and controller for the company, effective June 1.Hickok’s appointment continues a relationship with Scripps that dates to 1988 when she was hired as a financial analyst in the corporate finance department. She has been chief analyst for corporate development since January of this year. Prior to that, she served two years as controller for the company’s new media operations.“Lori’s impressive financial management credentials, plus her long association with Scripps, makes her the right choice for this key senior management position,” said Joseph G. NeCastro, who May 3 assumes responsibilities as the company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer. “She has a clear view of how we, as members of the financial management team, can work together to fulfill the company’s strategic mission.” Hickok, 39, succeeds J. Robert Routt who has chosen to take early retirement after 21 years with the company. Routt, whose retirement is effective May 31, will continue to serve as treasurer of Scripps Howard Foundation, the company’s philanthropic organization.Hickok worked most of her career at Scripps as a financial manager in the company’s former cable television systems division, which merged in 1996 with Comcast Corporation. She left the company after the merger to serve two years as vice president of finance for Paramount Kings Island in Cincinnati. She returned to Scripps in 1999 as controller of the company’s new media operations. Hickok began her career as a certified public accountant in 1985 at the accounting firm of Ernst & Whinney, where, over a three-year period, she advanced from serving as a staff accountant to auditor and then senior auditor. She graduated in 1985 from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a bachelor’s degree in business, majoring in accounting and finance.Hickok lives in Milford, Ohio, with her husband, James, and their children, Greg, 12, and Megan, 10.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 four cable television networks.Scripps national television network brands include Home & Garden Television, Food Network, DIY — Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living. Scripps Networks programming can be seen in 25 countries.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, fineliving.com and comics.com.