CINCINNATI—The E.W. Scripps Company has announced that Bill Appleton, the company’s chief legal officer, will retire at the end of 2024, and that the company has appointed deputy general counsel Dave Giles to replace him.
Appleton joined Scripps in 2008 and has counseled its leadership team on every major decision since then. He helped facilitate successful acquisitions of McGraw Hill (2011), Granite Broadcasting (2014), Newsy (2014), Midroll (2015), Triton Digital (2017), Nexstar-Tribune spinoff stations (2018) and Cordillera (2019).
In addition, Appleton was a key architect of the company’s 2015 transaction that spun off Scripps’ newspapers to merge with Journal Communications’ newspapers and brought Journal Communications’ television stations into a merger with Scripps’ stations. He also led the legal proceedings for the 2021 acquisition of ION Media, a transformative transaction for Scripps.
Appleton worked closely with the company and the Scripps family for many years before joining the company. He served as outside corporate legal counsel for 30 years with Baker Hostetler, leading legal proceedings for Scripps’ initial public offering in 1988 and for the 2008 spinoff that split the company into two public companies – The E.W. Scripps Company and Scripps Networks Interactive.
“Bill’s steady hand has guided every transformation of the company for decades, and we would not be the enterprise we are today without his brilliant legal mind and incredible work ethic,” said Adam Symson, Scripps’ president and CEO. “I am incredibly grateful for his wise counsel.”
Giles has led Scripps in the areas of media law, defense of the First Amendment and intellectual property and litigation, antitrust and regulatory issues involving the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. He has also served as the company’s chief ethics officer and overseen Scripps’ employment and labor practice.
Giles was chair of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Communications Law from 2018 to 2020 and is currently on the board of Cincinnati Public Radio.
Prior to joining Scripps in 2004, Giles was an attorney with Baker Hostetler. Before law school, he was a reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today.
“Dave has been a strong contributor to our company for many years, and his impeccable discernment and integrity are widely respected,” Symson said. “Dave will work closely with Bill to ensure a smooth transition, and I know we will remain in good hands.”
