Nackey E. Scagliotti, a great-granddaughter of the company’s founder, will become chairwoman of The E.W. Scripps Company’s board of directors on May 5. She will succeed William R. Burleigh, who is retiring after 10 years as chairman and nearly 50 additional years as a Scripps employee.
In February, the board’s nominating and governance committee recommended to the full board that Scagliotti be selected as chairwoman. Scripps disclosed the change in its annual proxy statement filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Scagliotti, 63, is a trustee of The Edward W. Scripps Trust and has been a member of the Scripps board of directors since 1999. She was chairwoman of the board of directors of The Union Leader Corporation, a Manchester, N.H.-based publisher of daily, Sunday and weekly newspapers, from 1999 until last December. She was assistant publisher of The Union Leader newspaper from 1996 to 1999. She also is the former president and publisher of Neighborhood Publications, Inc., a New Hampshire-based publisher of weekly newspapers.
“The 58 years of service that Bill Burleigh has given to The E.W. Scripps Company is profoundly appreciated and it’s a great honor to follow him as chair of the board,” said Scagliotti. “We are blessed during these challenging times with a management team and a board of directors that are among the most dedicated and talented in the industry. Given our company’s proud history of integrity and innovation, I’m confident Scripps will play an important role in developing a business model that assures future delivery of reliable news and information to the American public.”
Burleigh, a director of the company since 1990, chose not to be a nominee for director at this year’s annual meeting of shareholders.
After serving as editor of Scripps newspapers in Evansville, Ind., and Cincinnati, Ohio, Burleigh joined the corporate headquarters in 1984 as vice president and general editorial manager/newspapers, a position he held until 1988, when he became senior vice president of newspapers. He was promoted to executive vice president of the company in 1990 and added the title of chief operating officer in 1994. He was promoted to president in 1994, to chief executive officer in 1996 and to chairman of the board in 1999.
“It is a happy day to see such a talented and dedicated member of the Scripps family chosen to lead the board and to continue a remarkable commitment that now stretches over four generations,” said Burleigh.
About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse, 130-year-old media enterprise with interests in television stations, newspapers, local news and information Web sites, and licensing and syndication. The company’s portfolio of locally focused media properties includes: 10 TV stations (six ABC affiliates, three NBC affiliates and one independent); daily and community newspapers in 14 markets and the Washington, D.C.-based Scripps Media Center, home of the Scripps Howard News Service; and United Media, the licensor and syndicator of Peanuts, Dilbert and approximately 150 other features and comics. For a full listing of Scripps media companies and their associated Web sites, visit https://www.scripps.com/.