Broadcast group E.W. Scripps has named Adam Symson as its new president and CEO, effective Aug. 8. Current CEO Rich Boehne will step down but continue to serve as Scripps chairman.
Since November, Symson has served as chief operating officer and watched over the company’s broadcast TV, digital media and radio divisions. He joined Scripps in 2002.
“Adam is a terrific leader, motivated by an entrepreneurial drive and a mission-driven commitment to enterprise journalism,” said Boehne in a statement. “He steps up to the new role determined to continue—and accelerate—the success of this adventurous 140-year-old company.”
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Boehne has spent 29 years with E.W. Scripps. He’s served as CEO since 2008, when E.W. Scripps was spun off from Scripps Networks Interactive, the company formed to oversee Scripps’ cable networks including Food Network and HGTV.
Boehne led the 2015 deal with Journal Communications that merged Journal’s broadcast operations into Scripps and spun off both companies’ newspapers as part of his strategy to exit newspapers and enlarge the broadcast holdings of the company.
“Rich has served this company, our employees and our shareholders with distinction, integrity and humility,” said Marvin Quin, Scripps’ lead director, in the statement. “His unwavering commitment to freedom of the press has benefited the communities we serve, and his pursuit of value-enhancing opportunities has been instrumental in the company’s success. Scripps will continue to benefit from his experience and instincts in his new role of nonexecutive board chair.”
The official news about Boehne’s retirement and Symson’s appointment as CEO surfaced earlier this year when E.W. Scripps announced new board members, including Symson.
The company also named Peter Thompson, current chief operating officer at TiVo, to its board. Thompson has worked for Sonos, Microsoft and previously served as senior VP of the TV and media division at Ericsson.