Scripps station serves community with in-depth reporting on murder mystery

CINCINNATI, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jason Ellis was a beloved father and husband, a devoted son, a loyal best friend, and a decorated police officer. So who ambushed him on a lonely Kentucky exit ramp in May 2013 and gunned him down? And why?

WCPO, the ABC affiliate of The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP), delves deeply into the unsolved crime and offers an interactive storyline recounting the final 24 hours of the Bardstown, Ky. police officer. WCPO Northern Kentucky Reporter Jessica Noll received extensive access to interview the officer's wife and friends as well as police investigators. She pored over hundreds of documents, including police and autopsy reports. She listened to hours of police radio transmissions.

"This is a story that has captivated an entire town, a state and possibly country—and after hundreds of hours of research and several days of interviewing those closest to Officer Ellis, I am not surprised that his death shook an entire community," Noll said. "His own words started to reveal themselves in the stories told by those who knew him, and that was what kept me motivated to tell this story."  

Noll's work has become an impressive project now available on www.WCPO.com including research materials, maps and interviews enabling readers to immerse themselves in the still-unsolved case.

The story, told in narrative style, goes far beyond the traditional coverage most often seen on TV station websites and illustrates the kind of reporting WCPO.com audiences can expect from the site's new premium content, which will be available to subscribers only, beginning in early 2014.

"This story is a great example of the type of depth, perspective and analysis we aspire to produce for our WCPO subscribers," said Dave Peterson, general manager of WCPO Digital. "Some stories demand a closer inspection and a deeper dive, and it is our goal to inspire a conversation that will hopefully lead to a break in this case."

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. It owns 19 local television stations and daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States and an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses. 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 most successful educational programs, Scripps Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.

SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company