He will have responsibility for Knight Ridder's online activities, which include more than 45 Web sites, national and local Web sales efforts, software development and content creation. He also will oversee Knight Ridder's investments in CareerPath.com and Classified Ventures.

Since March 1998, Finnigan has served as president and CEO of SBC Interactive, a subsidiary of SBC Communications, Inc., in Pasadena, Calif. He led operating and strategic business development for the company's online information directory and shopping guide service, SMARTpages and spearheaded the rebranding and launch of www.smartpages.com, a leading Internet Yellow Pages Web site. He was also instrumental in the development of The At Hand Network, a nationwide network of Internet Yellow Pages services operated by four online directory companies.

Knight Ridder Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Ridder said, "Dan is smart, knowledgeable, aggressive and competitive. In the variety of jobs he has held, and in the rich new media experiences he has had, he has made the fast-moving space of the Internet his special preserve. He is energized by its challenges and supremely optimistic about its potential. At Knight Ridder New Media, where we are building some of the most sophisticated Web products in the newspaper industry, these skills and perspective will be invaluable. Of necessity, we were very demanding in our search for the right New Media leader. I could not be more pleased that it brought us Dan Finnigan."

Finnigan, 36, has a solid background in new media business development. He joined SBC in 1995 as one of the four managers who conceptualized and handled the commercial launch of the Pacific Bell At Hand Web site in 1996.

From 1994 to 1995, Finnigan was group manager for product development for ESS Ventures, LLC, a joint venture of the Los Angeles Times and Pacific Telesis Group. Prior to that, he served as new business development manager for the Los Angeles Times and a senior consultant for The Advisory Board Company in Washington, D.C. He was also a freelance writer for a time for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Finnigan has an MBA in finance and marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and attended the master's program at The Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in communication studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Knight Ridder is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 9.2 million daily and 13.1 million Sunday, and maintains 45 associated Web sites under the name Knight Ridder Real Cities. Knight Ridder also has investments in two newsprint mills. In September, the company was named the most innovative user of technology in the United States by InformationWeek magazine in its annual InformationWeek 500 listings.

About Knight Ridder New Media

Knight Ridder New Media, a leader in interactive information, is located in San Jose, Calif., and maintains more than 45 Web sites in its Real Cities network (www.realcities.com). Real Cities, one of the leading city networks on the Web today, consists of regional portals, city resource sites and a variety of online services in classifieds, entertainment, shopping, news, search and archives.

Real Cities is a trademark of Knight Ridder New Media.

Contacts:

Polk Laffoon Vice President/Corporate Relations (408) 938-7838 plaffoon@knightridder.com

Lee Ann Schlatter Director/Corporate Communications (408) 938-7839 lschlatter@knightridder.com Cynthia Funnell National Communications Manager Knight Ridder New Media (408) 938-6076 cfunnell@realcities.com

Visit our Websites at www.kri.com, www.realcities.com.