Business News

Peirce Named Trustee of The Edward W. Scripps Trust

Tuesday 01. April 2008 - The Edward W. Scripps Trust, the controlling shareholder of The E. W. Scripps Company, has selected Mary McCabe Peirce as a trustee. She succeeds Edward W. Scripps Jr., who last month announced his retirement from the Trust and the company's board of directors.

Peirce, 59, will serve as a trustee with John Burlingame and Nackey Scagliotti effective immediately. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting in June, she will stand for election to the board of directors. Her nomination will be voted upon by holders of Common Voting Shares, more than 87 percent of which are held by the Trust.

The company announced in October 2007 that management was authorized to pursue a separation of Scripps into two publicly traded companies, one — The E. W. Scripps Company — focused on local media, and the other — Scripps Networks Interactive — focused on national brands. The transaction is expected to be completed by July 1. If elected to The E. W. Scripps Company’s board of directors in June, Peirce also will eventually serve on the board of Scripps Networks Interactive.

She has held prominent leadership roles in Scripps family affairs, including past chairmanship of the family’s annual business meeting and current service on the family’s media relations and ethics committees.

Peirce is a long-time advocate of health — and youth-related community services. In Sarasota, Fla., where she currently resides with her husband, David, she has served on the board of Project Rebound, a program designed to provide an education for disadvantaged and court-remanded youth. She previously served on the board of Visiting Nurse Services of Long Island, N.Y., during the period when that organization established the Hospice of North Shore.

She is the daughter of Margaret Scripps Buzzelli, a granddaughter of the company founder, and Charles McCabe, who was a noted columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle.