WASHINGTON – The E.W. Scripps Company’s Washington, D.C., bureau will be known as the Scripps Media Center to recognize its new role producing magazines, special sections and other innovative products in addition to reporting the news.The Washington office covers national and international news and will continue to offer the Scripps Howard News Service to more than 400 newspapers.In addition, the Washington staff produces magazines from Scripps cable networks Home & Garden Television (HGTV) and Food Network, along with newspaper special sections from the Fine Living and DIY – Do It Yourself networks.Spanish-language news and information also is being produced for magazines and newspapers, as well as material for Web sites around the world.“This is more than a name change. Just about everyone here has taken on new responsibilities to reflect how Scripps has grown to become a multimedia news and information company,” said Peter Copeland, editor and general manager of the Scripps Media Center. Although the Media Center’s scope is made easier by new technology, some of its functions date back to 1917 when Scripps first opened an office in Washington, D.C., to cover the world and provide editorials for its newspapers.The news and commentary role continues today with a veteran staff of reporters and editors producing stories and photos daily for Scripps Howard News Service and Scripps-McClatchy Western Service. The two services are purchased by hundreds of newspapers around the world and viewed by millions of Internet users. New products from the Washington office not only include magazines drawn from the popular cable networks HGTV and Food Network and newspaper special sections featuring stories from cable networks DIY and Fine Living, but also custom publications for partner companies such as Verizon.Another new role is production of Spanish-language newspaper and magazine content to reach the growing Hispanic population in the United States.Karen Timmons will serve as managing editor of the Scripps Media Center.“We’ve grown from Washington news to lifestyle and entertainment, from newspapers to television and online, and from English to Spanish,” said Timmons. “Our business is news and information.”The Scripps Media Center has been organized into the following five teams:Business, headed by Michael Zamba.Magazines, Gina Gonzalez, who also continues as director of marketing.News, led by Pamela Reeves.Special sections, led by Wanita Niehaus.Visuals, headed by Dayna Elefant.The Scripps Media Center will continue its role training young journalists with the Scripps Howard Foundation. About 30 student interns from the United States and abroad work in the Washington office each year. 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 television retailing 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 85 million U.S. television households and Food Network can be seen in about 84 million households. Scripps Networks Web sites include FoodNetwork.com, HGTV.com, DIYnetwork.com and fineliving.com. Scripps Networks programming can be seen in 86 countries. The company’s television retailing 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 48 million full-time equivalent U.S. households.Scripps also operates United Media, which is the worldwide licensing and syndication home of PEANUTS and DILBERT.