Lawlor, Tomlin Top Leadership Changes At Scripps

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Two weeks after 14-year company veteran Adam Symson took the reins as President/CEO of The E.W. Scripps Company, he’s already putting his stamp on the media operation previously led by the now-retired Rich Boehne. 


Effective immediately, the following promotions have been made:

  • SVP/Broadcast Brian Lawlor is now President/Local Media
  • VP/Digital Operations Laura Tomlin is now SVP/National Media
  • SVP/Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Knutson is now EVP/Chief Strategy Officer
  • SVP/CFO Tim Wesolowski and SVP/General Counsel William Appleton are now EVPs
Brian Lawlor

Lawlor will continue to oversee Scripps’ 33 television stations and 34 radio stations. Starting Jan. 1, he’ll also be responsible for the stations’ local digital operations and the four Katz multicast networks — Bounce, Escape, Grit and Laff.

Katz was acquired by Scripps in a deal valued at $302 million. Closing is expected to occur on Oct. 2.

Lawlor runs the company’s television and radio divisions and since 2009 has overseen the rapid growth of Scripps’ broadcasting assets from 10 TV stations in 2009 to 33 TV stations and 34 radio stations today. He is the former television board chairman for the NAB and the former president and chairman of the NBC Affiliates Board.

Tomlin is responsible for next-generation national news network Newsy; podcast industry leader Midroll and listening service Stitcher; satire and humor brand Cracked; and lifestyle brand SimpleMost. She also leads the Scripps Washington Bureau, with its national investigative reporting team and podcast productions.

Knutson is taking over corporate development in addition to her current responsibilities.

Symson said, “With more choices than ever, today’s media consumers move across different distribution platforms seamlessly, choosing where they want to engage based on how well media brands inform and entertain them. To better align with the way our audiences and advertisers see our businesses, we are positioning the company with a managerial structure built around these local and national marketplaces. Our local brands are well positioned on multiple platforms to deepen the relationships we’ve had in our markets, some going back more than 50 years. Our national businesses are growing quickly, achieving the scale necessary to be meaningful players in the national media landscape.”