CINCINNATI, Ohio — The E.W. Scripps Company is reorganizing approximately 60 local television stations in 40 markets into 11 regions, replacing much of its individual-market management structure with regional oversight.

Each region will be led by a regional general manager responsible for multiple markets. Most will oversee between two and four markets, although the Montana region includes six. Scripps also said 27 positions in local-market and sales leadership are being eliminated as part of the change.

The company did not describe those 27 positions as newsroom jobs. Scripps says every market will retain a local news operation led by its news director and that editorial decisions will remain with newsroom leaders closest to the communities they serve.

One executive, several distinct communities

The new map places groups of geographically separate markets under a single executive. The Great Lakes region, for example, includes Detroit, Grand Rapids, Green Bay and Milwaukee. The Southwest region includes Corpus Christi, Phoenix, Tucson and Waco.

Scripps says the structure will provide consistency, scale and support while keeping local journalism and revenue central to the operation. The company is also expanding around-the-clock streaming news and using artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in technical production workflows.

The practical test will be whether a regional manager can remain meaningfully accountable to several communities at once. Local advertisers, public officials, nonprofit groups and viewers often expect direct access to station leadership, particularly during emergencies or disputes over coverage.

What remains local

Scripps’ statement draws a line between business leadership and editorial authority: regional general managers will oversee clusters of markets, while news directors will continue leading local newsrooms. That promise can be measured by tracking who controls hiring, budgets, investigative priorities, emergency coverage and responses to community complaints.

The company has named managers for ten regions and says another executive will be appointed for the Northeast region, covering Buffalo, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Source: The E.W. Scripps Company announcement, September 9, 2026.