SAN JOSE, CA -- April 16, 2002 -- Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) today announced the appointment of Hilary A. Schneider as president and chief executive officer of Knight Ridder Digital and a vice president of Knight Ridder, effective April 29. Schneider is currently chief executive officer of Red Herring Communications in San Francisco.

She will have responsibility for Knight Ridder's online activities, which include more than 58 Web sites, national and local Web sales efforts, software development and content creation. She also will oversee Knight Ridder's investments in CareerBuilder and Classified Ventures.

Knight Ridder Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Ridder said, "Hilary has spent her career driving towards business success, and that drive will be very valuable to us at Knight Ridder Digital. With a background in finance, newspaper sales/operations and the digital space, she comes well armed; to all of that, her experience on the boards of CareerPath and Classified Ventures adds unique value. Hilary regards Knight Ridder's assets, in both geography served and in classified positioning, as strong competitive advantages. She looks forward greatly to the challenge of taking on Monster -- and we look forward to watching her lead."

Schneider, 41, has a strong background in new business development and newspaper-related publishing. From 1999 to 2000, she served as president and CEO of Times Mirror Interactive in Baltimore, managing all of the company's Internet activities. She spent seven years with The Baltimore Sun Company; she was general manager from 1998 to 1999; vice president/sales and marketing 1997 to 1998; vice president/sales 1996 to 1997; vice president/new business development 1994 to 1995; and director of development 1992 to 1994. Prior to that, she was director of business development for Times Mirror Corporation from 1990 to 1992, and vice president/corporate finance for Drexel Burnham
Lambert Inc., from 1986 to 1990. She earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1986 and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Brown University in 1982.

Knight Ridder is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 32 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.5 million daily and 12.1 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, creates and maintains a variety of online services, including Real Cities (http://www.RealCities.com), a national network of city and regional destination sites in 58 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are located in San Jose, Calif.