NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 9/9/97 -- Standard&Poor's today affirmed its single-'A' corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings of E.W. Scripps Co. and removed these ratings from CreditWatch, where they were placed May 21, 1997. The ratings outlook is stable. The ratings affirmation follows the review of Scripps' planned $775 million purchase of six newspapers, one television station, and one radio station from Harte-Hanks Communications Inc., and the subsequent planned exchange of these television and radio stations with A.H. Belo Corp. for Belo's 56% interest in the TV Food Network and $75 million. Scripps is currently very conservatively capitalized. The company's debt burden will rise significantly with the Harte-Hanks transaction, with total debt to capital rising
