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                                                        EXHIBIT 5



                                 July 11, 1994



The E.W. Scripps Company
312 Walnut Street, Suite 2800
Cincinnati, Ohio  45202

         Re:     Registration Statement on Form S-4 with respect to 4,952,782 
                 shares of Class A Common Stock
                 ------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sirs:

         We have acted as counsel to The E.W. Scripps Company, a Delaware
corporation (the "Company"), in connection with its Registration Statement on
Form S-4 (the "Registration Statement") being filed this date under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), for the purpose of registering
under the Act up to 4,952,782 shares of Class A Common Stock, $.01 par value
("Common Shares"), of the Company issuable in connection with the merger of
Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company, an Ohio corporation ("SHB") into SHB
Merger Corporation, an Ohio corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the
Company ("Mergerco").

         We have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise
identified to our satisfaction, of such documents as we have deemed necessary
for the purposes of this opinion including, without limitation, the Agreement
and Plan of Merger dated May 4, 1994 (the "Merger Agreement"), by and among
Mergerco, SHB and the Company.

         Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:

         1.      The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as
                 a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware.

         2.      The Shares have been duly and validly authorized and, when
                 issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the
                 Merger Agreement and in the manner contemplated by the
                 Registration Statement, will be legally issued, fully paid and
                 nonassessable.
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The E.W. Scripps Company
July 11, 1994
Page 2



         We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm under "Legal Matters"
in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus included in the Registration Statement.

                                                   Very truly yours,



                                                   Baker & Hostetler

WA0232:99163:94001:SUB:WA-19.LTR
