E.W. Scripps Company

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

The E.W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E.W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps.

In terms of market reach, Scripps is the second largest operator of ABC (which is owned by The Walt Disney Company) affiliates, behind the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and ahead of Hearst Television and Tegna. Through Ion Media, it also owns the free-to-air Ion Television network.

1st Logo (2009-December 31, 2015)


Visuals: There is a light panning from left to right, as the screen zooms out of a blue square; inside is the Scripps lighthouse symbol over an ocean with waves crashing at sunset. The word "SCRIPPS" turns from the left below the lighthouse, and a copyright appears below.

Variants:

  • A version without the copyright notice appears near the end of the demo reel of Scripps' "copper panes" graphics package, seen here.
  • Starting around 2011, the text "Give light and the people will find their own way" (which is Scripps' motto) appears below the Scripps logo, with light rays forming on the word "light".
  • In 2012, the logo was redone in a slightly lighter shade of blue and without the light panning at the beginning. The shine also scrolls through the whole motto instead of staying on "light".
  • Some stations, such as WFTS (ABC Action News) in Tampa, FL, used an animation from the "copper panes" graphics package before transitioning to the logo.
  • On Staying Safe in Tornado Alley, a short version is seen.

Technique: CGI from Renderon Broadcast Design (the "searchlight" at the beginning appeared at the beginning of news intros when Scripps stations used the Renderon-developed "copper panes" graphics package from 2009 to 2012).

Audio: A 5-note piano-violin fanfare with the sounds of waves crashing. This is based on the music package "Inergy" by Stephen Arnold Music, which was used by all Scripps stations at the time.

Audio Variants:

  • From 2009-2012, a single note was heard, followed by a quick six-note synth tune; this was based on the earlier Scripps news music package, composed by Musikvergnuegen.
  • On Staying Safe in Tornado Alley, only the sounds of waves crashing are heard.
  • Some of the stations used a closing narration on the logo's music or the ending theme of the newscast, such as WFTS (ABC Action News) in Tampa, FL.

Availability: It was seen on Let's Ask America. Also seen at the end of newscasts on Scripps-owned stations of the era.

2nd Logo (January 1, 2016-)


Visuals: On a dark blue-black gradient background with a black lighthouse on the left, a white light emanates from its right and rotates around the screen, revealing the same "SCRIPPS" text from the previous logo (large enough to almost fill the entire width of the screen). Above the text is the slogan "Give light (lighthouse lines logo) and the people will find their own way". Shown below is this copyright notice in the Proxima Nova font: "COPYRIGHT (YEAR), SCRIPPS".

Variants:

  • A version with no copyright notice exists. This hasn't been used on any programming so far and can be seen on Stephen Arnold Music's website.
  • Sometimes, the text can be either medium-sized or smaller, with a different copyright notice that reads "© (YEAR) (SUBSIDIARY), PART OF THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY".
  • A short version exists.

Technique: 2D animation, this time designed by Jon Deshaies and animated at Scripps station WFTS (ABC Action News) in Tampa, FL (where the group’s graphics hub is based). This logo is reminiscent of the Castle Rock Entertainment logo.

Audio: Same as the previous logo, but without the waves crashing; however, the whoosh sounds can be heard and the background hum is held out longer.

Audio Variants:

  • On newscasts of some Scripps-owned stations (among them WEWS (News 5) in Cleveland, OH), the ending theme of the newscast (from "Inergy" by Stephen Arnold Music) plays over the logo instead.
  • In 2019, the logo was updated with a newer Scripps theme ("Scripps News Package", also by Stephen Arnold Music).

Availability: Can be seen at the end of newscasts and most specials (such as Detroit, MI station WXYZ's 70th anniversary special) on Scripps-owned stations, excluding those that outsource newscasts to non-co-owned stations in the same city (such as WSYM in Lansing, MI), as well as The List and Right This Minute.

Scripps Howard Broadcasting
E.W. Scripps Company
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