Scripps hires J.B. Kropp as VP of digital strategy and business development

CINCINNATI, June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneurial leader and social media marketing expert J.B. Kropp has joined The E.W. Scripps Co. (NYSE: SSP) as VP, digital strategy and business development, effective June 23. In this new role, he will oversee the company's digital entrepreneurs-in-residence team and will work with the digital leadership team to build and execute upon the company's long-range digital strategies.

Kropp is a widely respected digital media executive with deep experience in social media marketing and startup creation. His background spans more than 16 years of product development, operations, and strategic leadership in early-stage advertising and marketing companies.

"J.B. is such a great fit for Scripps," said Adam Symson, chief digital officer for Scripps. "With our aggressive digital media strategy, we needed a true innovator who could lead new business development from its conceptual design, through development and all the way through execution to long-term stability. I firmly believe that his experience on both the creative and strategic sides will help us drive significant and exciting business and product development."

With more in the pipeline, Scripps already has an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses, including national video news network Newsy, national weather emergency app StormShield, political reporting blog and podcast DecodeDC and local youth sports resource Youthletic.com.

Prior to joining Scripps, Kropp was involved with two digital media powerhouses – working as an executive at Twitter with its client Procter & Gamble. He helped P&G develop social media marketing frameworks for its global brands. Before that, he was one of the founders of Vitrue, a social media management platform recently acquired by Oracle. And he was an early executive who helped launch and grow the digital sharing and data company ShareThis.

A Cincinnati native, Kropp is well known in the local startup community. He is one of the founders of the The Brandery, the Cincinnati accelerator that has helped launch successful startups including FlightCar, ChoreMonster, Roadtrippers, Frameri, Sqrl, TapFit and Ahalogy. He is an entrepreneur himself, having founded SmartyTags.com, GoBigRecruiting.com, and George Remus Whiskey.

Kropp holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Denison University and serves on the board of directors for Artswave, Starfire Council of Greater Cincinnati and Starfire U. He is also a member of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association and an Advisory Board member for a number of startups.  

About Scripps  
The E.W. Scripps Company (www.scripps.com) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, print and digital media brands. Scripps owns 21 local television stations as well as daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States. It also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses including online multi-source video news provider Newsy. Scripps also produces television programming, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the long-time steward of one of the nation's largest, most successful and longest-running educational programs, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.

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SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company