Scripps President Hopes Others Will Follow His Lead

Curtis R. Holsopple Judy Clabes of the Scripps Howard Foundation said "the stars just lined up for all of us" with its selection of Hampton.

A $10 million commitment that includes a new building and a new journalism and communications school are only the first steps in his company’s goal of helping to create a premier journalism program at Hampton University, said Ken Lowe, president of the E.W. Scripps Co.

“Passion and dedication to this program will make it one the best in the country,” Lowe said. “The money invested in this building is only the beginning.”

In addition to the building, the Scripps Howard Foundation’s commitment includes support for the university’s new journalism curriculum and endowments for scholarships, visiting professionals, faculty development and programming.

Lowe spoke Wednesday night in front of roughly 150 people inside the auditorium of the new Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. His talk followed a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the grand opening of the school earlier in the day.

“There are not enough African American and Latino journalists in America,” Lowe said. “The building represents a promising future and cultural diversity. Hampton students are some of tomorrow’s great editors, writers and publishers who must strive for excellence and accept nothing less.”

“You all will help determine our media,” he continued, “what we see, what we read, and what we hear. You must learn to be great storytellers and keep the line drawn between news and hype.”

Lowe argued against using sensationalism to gain ratings, pointing to shows with Howard Stern and Anna Nicole Smith as examples of what not to do.

He said Scripps took a chance in 1994 in creating the Home & Garden Television network, now distributed to nearly 80 million households, as “real TV.” Now, he said, that concept is used to describe MTV’s “The Real World.” We need to get it back to quality over sensationalism, he said.

Lowe said his company chose to build the school at Hampton because of the university’s high standards of achievement and its family atmosphere.

“I really admire the pride Hampton University has,” Lowe said. “The Hampton family cares for itself and for others, as does Scripps. It’s a perfect fit.”

Audience members said they were impressed with Lowe’s speech and appreciated his sense of humor. At one point during the lecture he stopped in mid-sentence and said it was still hard for him to believe HU had defeated his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, in basketball last year.

“It was an honor to be in the room with so many distinguished members of the media like Ken Lowe,” said Tanniel Robertson, a Hampton junior. Lowe’s address concluded the third day of a week-long celebration at the school. Students are attending numerous workshops and panels hosted by professionals on a variety of media topics.

Nathan DeVoe is a senior broadcast journalism major at Hampton University.