Scripps has strong ties to Ohio

By Brynn Burton
Staff Writer

E.W. Scripps may have been born in Illinois, but his home was Ohio, and Ohio University is home to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

"We have strong sentimental ties in Ohio. E.W.'s first newspaper was started in Ohio, his first news broadcast was here too," said Sue Porter, an editor at Scripps Howard News, for the Scripps Howard Foundation. "Even though E.W. was born in Illinois, it was Ohio where he decided to make his home."

But the Scripps name was known long before OU had a journalism school named after Edward Wyllis Scripps.

Born June 18, 1854 in Rushville, Ill., Scripps has the OU school and building named after him in honor of the $1.5 million donation given by the Scripps Howard Foundation. The endowment included a portion dedicated to remodeling Carnegie Hall, former home of OU's first library, into E.W. Scripps Hall.

He began his career in 1873, moving to Detroit with $80 dollars in his pocket and working as a staff member of the Detroit Evening News, which was founded by his half-brother James Edmund Scripps.

Scripps would then found his own newspaper, The Cleveland Penny Press, in 1878. Later he organized the first major chain of newspapers in the United States and in 1907 established the United Press. By 1887, Scripps controlled papers in St. Louis, Detroit, and Cincinnati.

In 1909, Scripps and his half-brother, George H. Scripps and Milton Alexander McRae formed the Scripps-McRae League of Newspapers.

Scripps eventually owned 34 newspapers in 15 states, according to United Press International.

According to the Scripps Howard Foundation Web site (http://www.scripps.com/foundation/), Scripps wrote for the "95 percent" or the ordinary people in society. His newspapers were "low-priced, politically independent, liberal, and pro-labor."

Scripps died March 12, 1926 as he anchored his yacht, ••Ohio••, in Liberia. According to the Scripps Howard Foundation Web site, Scripps complained of being ill and told his secretary that when he died he wanted to be buried at sea. He died 20 minutes later at age 71. As he wished, his crew buried him in the Atlantic Ocean.

OU's E.W. Scripps Hall is the sixth home to the 75-year-old school of journalism, which began in 1923. The school was housed in Ellis Hall from 1923 to 1936; Ewing Hall from 1936 to 1955; Copeland Hall from 1955 to 1969; the Radio-TV Communication building from 1969 to 1974; and finally in Lasher Hall from 1974 to 1986.

About 10 years prior to the connection with the Scripps Howard Foundation, OU Professor Ralph Kliesch developed a passion for journalism that led him to the idea of incorporating the Scripps name to the school at OU.

"While I was getting my Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, I got my first look of the Scripps family and their contributions to newspapers," said Kliesch. "As fate would have it, it led me back to OU as assistant dean of the journalism school. We had one of the best journalism schools in the country, but it wasn't associated with any name."

Kliesch said he worked with John Wilhelm, the dean of the College of Communications at the time, to improve the journalism school. That was when they decided to approach Scripps for a name.

"We approached Scripps more than 15 years ago, before the building went under construction. Prior to that we approached them about making a connection between the university and Scripps," Kliesch said. "They then gave money to the school of journalism and we in return named the school and the building after E.W."

Kliesch and Wilhelm, along with former OU journalism professor Cortland Anderson, approached former OU President Charles Ping about the idea, but he was unsure of the idea, Kliesch said.

"About ten years after we first approached Ping, the ball then began rolling through meetings with the president of the Scripps foundation, Dick Campbell," Kliesch said. "I met with Dick Campbell when he visited Athens for communication week, and we discussed the suggestion. He liked what he heard; President Ping allowed us to proceed with the proposal."

In 1984, the Scripps Foundation gave an additional $250,000 for furniture for the journalism building.

"We went with the university for two reasons: for business and for sentimental reasons," Porter said. "For business, we were well aware that the journalism school at Ohio University was a very fine one. We saw the opportunities and promise that the school had and we wanted to help fulfill them."

Porter said the foundation also liked OU because of the history of E.W. Scripps and his love for Ohio.

In 1986, the school moved into the building, and it was dedicated May 2 of that year.

Construction consisted of a total renovation of Carnegie Hall, including the addition of a natural amphitheater, laboratories and offices.

"Scripps Hall in no way resembles the old Carnegie Hall after the renovation," Kliesch said.

According to university archives, the cost of the building was $3.5 million.

Three million dollars was appropriated by Ohio legislature for the construction; $175,000 of the Scripps endowment went towards construction, with the additional $250,000 for equipment and furniture, and $100,000 came from endowment earnings and private gifts.