Just got this press release. It has certainly gotten the phone lines buzzing
across the country! It looks like the newspapers en masse have decided not
to let the major online services control turn them into contract content
providers. Now, why wasn't AP the driver in this?       bob wyman

Eight Major U.S. Newspaper Companies form National Network of Online Services
Joint venture to include Advance Publications, Inc., Cox Newspapers, Inc.,
Gannet Co. Inc,. The Hearst Corporation, Knight Ridder, Inc., The Times
Mirror Co., Tribune Company and The Washington Post Co.

April 19 -- Eight of hte nation's largest newspaper companies announced
today that they are forming a new company to create a national network of
local online newspaper services.

The new company, New Century Network, will be operated as a joint venture by
Advance Publications, Inc. Cox Newspapers, Inc., Gannett Co. Inc., The
Hearst Corporation, Knight-Ridder, Inc., The Times Mirror Co., Tribune
Company and The Washington Post Co.

The objective of the new company will be to support local newspapers in
helping them provide local online services to their communities.

"The NCN network of online communities will be unique in giving customers
unprecedented access to the interactive news and information services of
newspapers across the U.S.," said Charles T. Brumback, chairman and chief
exectutive officer of Tribune Company, speaking on behalf of the partners.

The new venture will act as a catalyst for a wide number of services, such
as helping members share content and develop new content packages. It will
also provide to affiliate newspapers technical standards and consulting
services to facilitate the development of highly local online newspaper
services.

The network will enable local online newspaper services to provide a full
offering of local goods and services, including news, features and sports
information, ticket services, home shopping and guides to community,
entertainment, and other events. At the same time, it will allow them to
provide the powerful communications tools of a national network, including
e-mail, bulletin boards and real-time chat capabilities.

"The creation of NCN signals the evolution of the newspaper industry to a
new era of cooperation, enhanced focus and recognition that customers want
choices in the way news and information is delivered, including
electronically," said John J. Curley, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Gannett Co., Inc.

The founding companies own 185 daily newspapers with a total Sunday
circulation of more than 23 million. Six of the eight companies own
newspapers that currently offer products on commercial online services, and
the other two are developing such services. Each company is expecting to put
all but its smallest newspapers online on the network within the next three
years.

Times Mirror Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Robert F.
Erburu said, "This action underlies the reality that newspapers intend to be
serious online players. By developing local online services and linking them
through NCN, newspapers will reach a broad national audience. They will also
be more attractive partners to technology companies and other online
publishers."

"The founding partners firmly believe that a newspaper is the most
significant news and information source in its local community," said Donald
E. Graham, chairman and chief executive officer of The Washington Post Co.
"Online and electronic delivery is the natural extension of the newspaper's
mission to provide content -- edited with context and clarity -- however the
customer wants it."

P. Anthony Ridder, president and chief executive officer of Knight-Ridder,
said his company's experience in establishing pioneering information
services in Mercury Center in San Jose "persuaded us that we need strong
newspaper partnerships as we move into the electronic information age. New
Century Network fulfills that need, providing a user-friendly, local, online
communications community while also linking customers directly to other
online communitities and marketplaces nationally."

The partners said that the network would be open to all U.S. daily
newspapers. "We invite every daily newspaper in the country to participate
as an affiliate," said David Easterly, president and chief operating officer
of Cox Enterprises. "Our goal is to help all newspapers to strengthen their
relationships with customers and retain their brand leadership as
information providers."

Hearst President and Chief Executive Officer Frank A. Bennack Jr. said
"newspapers have long been the primary providers of reliable, high-quality
news and information within our communities, and today's announcement quite
logically extends our leadership to help local newspapers provide a full
range of interactive information and services."

NCN will help affiliates develop their local online newspaper services,
offering common technical standards and authoring tools, and developing
billing, tracking and consulting services. The NCN network will be connected
to and compatible with the Internet's World Wide Web.

Donald E. Newhouse, president of Advance Publications, Inc., emphasized that
common standards among newspapers are essential to developing newspaper
online services. "Connectivity and standards are the elements that have been
missing. New Century Network provides the solution," he said.

The new company will be governed by a board of directors appointed by the
founding firms, and will be managed by a chief executive officer reporting
to the board. Peter Winter, vice president/market development of Cox
Newspapers, will serve as interim CEO until the search for a permanent CEO
is completed.

Board members are David D. Hiller, senior vice president/development,
Tribune; Chip Perry, vice president of new business development of the Los
Angeles Times, representing Times Mirror; Bob Ingle, vice president/new
media, Knight-Ridder; Jay Smith, president, Cox Newspapers; Michael
Newhouse, general manager of The Times, Trenton, representing Advance; Ralph
S. Terkowitz, vice president, technology, Washington Post; John Palm,
president of new media, Gannett, and a representative from Hearst.

Remainder omitted....

--------------------------------------------------------
bobwyman@medio.com                  FAX: +(206) 883-8412
Bob Wyman, V.P. New Technologies, Medio Multimedia, Inc.
2643 151st Place, N.E., Redmond, WA 98052-5562
            
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