Spearheaded by Real Cities' Philly.com, the hometown site of Philadelphia and the convention, Real Cities coverage will feature live chats with party officials and candidates, live streaming video from inside the First Union Center and continuously updated news generated by more than 100 top Knight Ridder journalists from across the nation. A special strike force of reporters and photographers from leading newspapers Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News is covering both the convention's political news as well as local angles. Convention news and activity are available nationwide from every Real Cities site.

"We've been the insider's resource for all things Philly; it makes perfect sense for us to combine the best of our political reporting from Knight Ridder awardãwinning journalists and marry that with our interactive functionality and online services," said Lisa Romano, KnightRidder.com vice president of marketing and business development. "The result is a one-stop source and a wealth of up-to-the-minute information for all Web users and those who are interested in the convention but can't be there in person. We want consumers to know where to turn for credible information and we're delivering all the excitement network-wide in each of our local cities - including a special focus on state delegations and issues."

Each Real Cities site (Miami.com, BayArea.com, DFW.com, KansasCity.com, TwinCities.com, Charlotte.com, etc.) will have a convention icon on its front page linked to the content generated in Philadelphia that is localized for each city and region.

Real Cities editors and news producers will be stationed in Internet Alley, a special tented area in a media pavilion outside the First Union Center. Live, streaming video for Real Cities' coverage is being provided by pseudopolitics.com. Interactive chats with candidates and party officials are being coordinated by Philly.com, but are being promoted on all Real Cities sites and will be linked to those sites on the days they occur.

Philly.com provides local in-depth coverage of the convention at: http://GOP2000.Philly.com. Real Cities coverage is available either at www.realcities.com or at the individual city sites in the network. Consumers can look forward to similar comprehensive coverage of the Democratic convention anchored by BayArea.com (www.bayarea.com) coming soon in August.

About KnightRidder.com, Real Cities and Philly.com:

KnightRidder.com, a leader in interactive information, is headquartered in San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. KnightRidder.com operates and manages the national Web network of 36 local cities and regions, RealCities.com. Real Cities is the premier network of city and regional Web sites that empower consumers with information and tools to organize life's daily activities. Real Cities helps consumers connect with and maximize their cities' resources by providing ways to stay informed, save time and live fuller and more entertaining lives. The network offers a variety of online services covering news, sports, classified ads, entertainment, shopping, travel, health, sports, career channels, search, community publishing, events, interviews and commentary, Internet access, and archives. Philly.com is the premier online resource for Philadelphia, the surrounding five counties and South Jersey. Philly.com includes the area's leading local newspapers, Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. Real Cities partners include Belo Corporation, Central Newspapers, E.W. Scripps and Macromedia, Inc. Among its member Web sites are: BayArea.com, DFW.com, Indy.com, KansasCity.com, Kentucky.com, Miami.com, Philly.com, Ohio.com, PhoenixAZ.com, Charlotte.com, TwinCities.com and soon-to-be debuted, NorthJersey.com. KnightRidder.com develops and manages the Internet properties of Knight Ridder (NYSE:KRI), the nation's second largest newspaper publisher.

Press contacts:

Cynthia Mallen Funnell

Real Cities

408-938-6076

cfunnell@realcities.com

Maya Esparza

PRx Inc. Real Cities

408-287-1700, ext. 120

maya_esparza@prxinc.com