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                                                       EXHIBIT 23(a)

                        [Deloitte & Touche Letterhead]

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of
The E.W. Scripps Company and subsidiary companies on Form S-8 of our report
dated January 26, 1994 (which expresses an unqualified opinion and includes
explanatory  paragraphs  relating to the changes in accounting for certain
investments and for postretirement benefits other than pensions) appearing in
the Annual Report on Form 10-K of The E.W. Scripps Company and subsidiary
companies for the year ended December 31, 1993.

Deloitte & Touche

Cincinnati, Ohio 
May 31, 1994  





DELOITTE TOUCHE
TOHMATSU
INTERNATIONAL

