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Major media industry player steps up to help restaurants

Forty-two TV stations of The E.W. Scripps Company will help push restaurant and other local businesses across the U.S. (Image: Provided)

March 24, 2020

The restaurant industry is getting some public service announcement assistance from the television and newspaper industry. Cincinnati, Ohio-based media conglomerate, The E.W. Scripps Company, said in a news release that it has launched a public service campaign called "We're Open" to support local business owners and their workers, including restaurant brands, during the pandemic.

Restaurant brands and other businesses which have limited operations as part of the fight to end the pandemic are the beneficiaries of the multiplatform campaign that encourages TV viewers to help local small businesses stay afloat through this challenging period. Running in Scripps' 42 local media markets across their broadcast, over-the-top, digital and social media channels, the "We're Open" campaign celebrates the value such businesses bring to their communities. 

The TV stations involved are also promoting #TakeoutTuesday every week to encourage takeout and delivery on a normally slow day for the restaurant business.

"As journalists, our role is first and foremost about public service — and that's more true than ever right now as we cover how the COVID-19 pandemic affects local communities," said Brian Lawlor, president of Local Media for The E.W. Scripps Company.

"As Americans turn to local television for reliable local news and information, we will do our part to support our local economies by covering these businesses and supporting them through this public awareness campaign. Our employees live and work in the communities they cover, so it's important to us that our local businesses have a fighting chance of weathering this unprecedented storm."