WILLIAM JOHN SCRIPPS A.k.a Bill Scripps

(1905-1965)

Second son of William Edmund Scripps. Bill Scripps assumed the role of eldest son of the Scripps family branch upon the untimely death of his older brother James Edmund Scripps II, who died in his early twenties. Thereafter, Bill was groomed to take his father’s place on the Board of Directors of the Evening News Association.

Bill Scripps built the first television station in Michigan and the sixth in the USA which went on the air with regular programming March 4, 1947. Bill went on to develop the broadcast division of the Evening News. This division was so profitable that it virtually financed the losses of the Detroit News while it fought a costly circulation and advertising war with its morning city rival The Detroit Free Press

Bill was also a broadcast pioneer when in 1941 he applied for WWJ’s sister FM radio station. WWJ-FM was the 7th FM radio station to begin regular broadcast in the United States. Always competitive Jack Booth raced to put on WJLB’s sister FM radio station, and though Jack lost the race, WJLB-FM was the ninth FM station in the country to commence regular broadcasts.

Bill Scripps increased the number of television stations under license to the
Evening News Association until the company reached it’s maximum allowed television station ownership. The value of these stations became a significant portion of the valuation of the stock price of the Evening News Association when its assets were sold in the 1980’s.