On June 18, 1854, Edward Wyllis Scripps, founder of the Penny Press in Cleveland and engineer of a newspaper empire dedicated to fighting the battles of the "forgotten man," was born in Rushville, Ill.

Scripps started out as a clerk before joining his brother in the newspaper business in Detroit. He began his own paper - the Penny Press (later the Cleveland Press) - with money borrowed from family members in 1878. Founded on the principles of simply and clearly written news targeted at blue-collar readers, the paper's popular appeal and affordability rendered it a medium of education for the working classes.

When Scripps died in 1926, he owned 23 papers, an international news service and a syndication service. The E.W. Scripps Co. was incorporated in Ohio, with offices in Cincinnati.

Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com or call 768-8361.