CINCINNATI – John Lansing, a respected and proven television executive with an extensive background in news and entertainment programming, has been named executive vice president for Scripps Networks. His appointment is effective immediately.Scripps Networks, a division of The E. W. Scripps Company, operates Home & Garden Television, Food Network, the DIY – Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living.Lansing is being appointed to a newly created position as part of the company’s ongoing strategy to strengthen and build on the success of its growing portfolio of national lifestyle television networks. Lansing’s responsibilities will include working closely with top executives at each of the networks to help ensure the distinctiveness of each of the Scripps Networks brands and to further improve programming production efficiencies.“John will be working with each of our brand presidents to help lead the continued growth and success of our flagship networks — HGTV and Food Network — which are enjoying all time highs in viewership and ratings,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief executive officer of The E. W. Scripps Company. “He’ll also be lending his expertise to help guide the growth and development of our emerging networks, DIY and Fine Living. We’ve asked John to take on this important assignment because of the exceptional leadership skills he’s demonstrated as head of our TV station group and because of his outstanding abilities as a television programming executive.”Lansing, 46, has had strategic and operating oversight responsibilities for the 10 Scripps broadcast television stations since 2000, first as vice president of station operations and then as senior vice president/television. During his tenure, creative programming strategies have helped the local Scripps stations generate millions of dollars in revenues from new and non-traditional television advertisers. A successor to Lansing as head of the Scripps station group will be named at a later date.Under Lansing’s leadership, the Scripps stations have launched a number of successful initiatives to help develop Scripps Networks brands, the most successful being “DIY Local” programming, which can now be viewed, not only in markets served by Scripps stations, but also in about 40 non-Scripps local television station markets nationwide. “DIY Local” programming has been successful in helping the company build the DIY brand ahead of its distribution on local cable television systems. Earlier this year, with Lansing’s guidance, the Scripps-owned station in Detroit, WXYZ, assumed production responsibilities for the nationally syndicated show, Rebecca’s Garden.“Bringing John on board adds depth to a creative, talented and energetic leadership team that deserves the credit for building Scripps Networks into one of the country’s leading cable and satellite television programmers,” said Edward A. Spray, president of Scripps Networks. “John has a thorough understanding of television, both as a business and as a creative medium that entertains and informs. His role here will be to apply those skills to help us achieve our long-term goal of developing strong, distinctive programming brands that appeal to an ever growing number of viewers.”Before coming to the Scripps corporate office as vice president of station operations in 2000, Lansing had been vice president and general manager of the Scripps-owned television station in Cleveland, WEWS-TV. Lansing came to WEWS in 1997 from WXYZ, where he had served the previous two years as vice president and station manager.Lansing’s career in broadcasting began at the age of 17 when he worked as a news photographer for a local television station 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, a member of the National Association of Broadcasters board and the Scripps Howard Foundation board of trustees. Celebrating its 125th anniversary, The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks, interactive media and television-retailing. Scripps operates 21 daily newspapers, 10 broadcast TV stations, four cable and satellite television programming services and a home shopping network. All of the company’s media businesses provide content and advertising services via the Internet.Scripps Networks brands include Home & Garden Television, Food Network, DIY — Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living. HGTV reaches about 84 million U.S. television households and Food Network can be seen in about 83 million households. Scripps Networks Web sites include FoodNetwork.com, HGTV.com, DIYnetwork.com and fineliving.com. Scripps Networks programming can be seen in 33 countries. The company’s home shopping subsidiary, Shop At Home Network, markets a growing range of consumer goods directly to television viewers and visitors to the Shop At Home Web site, shopathometv.com. Shop At Home reaches about 45 million full-time equivalent U.S. households.Scripps also operates Scripps Howard News Service and United Media, which is the worldwide licensing and syndication home of PEANUTS and DILBERT.