For many years, the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance (SHNA) was the official name of the Washington bureau and national policy service for Scripps-Howard Newspapers. Originally founded in 1917 by Robert P. Scripps, SHNA filled the need created when the Newspaper Enterprise Association, which had formerly functioned as the chain's policy service, tempered the editorial content of its features in order to attract subscribers outside the Scripps-Howard organization.
During the first years of its operation, SHNA, sometimes known as the Editorial Board, mailed its material to members, but as a result of developments during subsequent years, it also came to operate as a leased wire service. In addition, SHNA's staff expanded to incorporate not only the chain's reporters in Washington, D.C., but also its many foreign correspondents. Over the years most of Scripps-Howard's top journalists and editors worked for SHNA at some time during their careers.
