Shares of E.W. Scripps Co. rose after today’s announcement that it would split itself into two publicly traded companies.
The E.W. Scripps Co. will control the company’s newspapers and local TV stations, while Scripps Networks Interactive, will oversee Home & Garden Television, the Food Network and the Shopzilla online shopping service.
Scripps is the second U.S. newspaper publisher and broadcaster to divide its assets in an attempt to increase its market value. Earlier this month, Belo announced it would separate its newspapers from its 20 television stations and Web sites.
According to Reuters, “Wall Street increasingly views the newspaper business as a losing proposition because advertising sales are falling and circulation is dropping as more people get their news online.”