Newtown’s Taunton Press Joins With Scripps In Book And Online Publishing

Newtown-based Taunton Press and Scripps Networks, both leaders in lifestyle media, have agreed to a partnership that will allow each to tap into the other’s areas of expertise.

The multiyear agreement will allow Scripps Networks’ already successful online properties to use select content, material, and photos from The Taunton Press’s well respected and authoritative books and magazines in the areas of homebuilding, gardening, woodworking, and cooking.

The Taunton Press will be able to use Scripps Networks’ online properties to assist with driving a larger audience to its magazines and books. Together, Taunton Press and Scripps Networks will seek new revenue opportunities in print and other platforms.

To that end, Taunton Press will be working with Food Network chefs, including Alton Brown and Robin Miller, to publish and distribute their next books, which are expected to be out in 2007.

“We have established our products as trusted sources of quality information for passionate enthusiasts in highly competitive markets,” said Jon Miller, executive vice president of The Taunton Press. “We’re looking forward to a successful relationship with Scripps, an equally respected, forward-thinking media company. Sharing our valuable content with an even larger audience through Scripps wide array of channels will provide greater access to enthusiasts searching for credible information, enabling them to pursue their passions and improve their skills with confidence.”

The Taunton Press, leading publishers of books and magazines on the house and home, has been celebrating creativity and inspiring readers to pursue their passions for more than 30 years. Written by practicing experts in the fields of home building, home design, cooking, gardening, woodworking, and fiber arts, Taunton products are widely regarded as leaders in their fields and praised as the highest quality in their respective categories.

Taunton’s family of niche magazines include Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Fine Gardening, Fine Cooking, Threads and related special-interest titles. Publisher of more than 500 book titles, Taunton’s lineup includes best-selling author and home design visionary Sarah Susanka’s Not So Big House series; Jeremiah Eck’s The Face of Home, the sixth title in a joint publishing venture with the AIA; How To Break an Egg by the editors of Fine Cooking; The best-selling Idea Book series, more than 20 titles strong; the highly acclaimed Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking series; and the home improvement series, For Pros By Pros.

The Taunton Press distributes its books through Random House, the world’s largest English-language general trade book publisher. is expected to release more than 50 new books in 2006.

A trusted source of valuable information and inspiration, millions of consumers choose Taunton magazines, books, DVDs, and website, www.taunton.com, to improve their skills and expand their horizons. Established in 1975, Taunton is a privately held publishing company,

 “This partnership gives two strong media companies an opportunity to draw on each other’s resources,” said John Lansing, president of Scripps Networks. “The Taunton Press has the expertise in these enthusiast markets, while Scripps Networks has the large audience numbers to offer. The ultimate results of this partnership will be noticeable by loyalists of both companies.”

Users of Scripps Networks’ online properties — HGTV.com, Foodnetwork.com, DIYNetwork.com, FineLiving.com, GACTV.com, HGTVPro.com, and HGTVKitchenDesign.com — will notice the use of extended content immediately. Content will be intended for everyone from the casual do-it-yourselfer to professional contractors.

Scripps Networks is comprised of the lifestyle television brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living TV Network, and country music network Great American Country (GAC). Scripps is the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, where on-air programming is complemented with online content.

In addition, Scripps Networks is aggressively developing its emerging media platforms for broadband and video on demand. Scripps Networks’ brands collectively are available in more than 110 countries on all seven continents. They also are distributed to 1,000 outlets on US military bases and US embassies around the world via the American Forces Radio and Television Service.

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, and Nashville, Scripps Networks is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks, interactive media, and television retailing. Scripps operates 21 daily newspapers, ten broadcast TV stations, Scripps Howard News Service, United Media, electronic retailer Shop At Home and Shopzilla.com.