Knight Ridder Acquires Free-Distribution Employment, Auto Publications

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 2, 2005 -- Knight Ridder today announced the acquisition of two leading free employee recruitment publications -- Jobs and Careers in the San Francisco Bay Area and DFW Job Connection in the Dallas-Fort Worth area -- and DFW Auto Connection. Details of the transactions were not disclosed.

"Advertisers will benefit from the combined strength of these recruitment titles, Knight Ridder's investment in the CareerBuilder online platform and the reach of the classified sections of our daily newspapers," said Greg Goff, Knight Ridder general manager/targeted publications. "Knight Ridder will now offer a broader range of advertising options than the competition."

Jobs and Careers, published in the Bay Area for nearly 20 years, has proven an efficient means of recruiting for its loyal base of advertisers. Its broad distribution throughout San Francisco, the Peninsula and the East Bay strengthens the position of the San Jose Mercury News and the Contra Costa Times. Jobs and Careers General Manager Allen Hardwicke will remain in that position. Former owner Mike Mainiero will work with Knight Ridder to identify growth opportunities for the publication.

DFW Job Connection publishes three zoned weeklies serving Dallas and Fort Worth. Former owners Sandra and Rick More will depart, and the rest of the staff will operate the publications.

Knight Ridder also acquired the DFW Auto Connection. It, along with Knight Ridder's free AutoFinder, will cover the entire metro market. AutoFinder is a used-vehicles publication offering high circulation coverage and reasonable ad rates on color newsprint. AutoConnection, printed on high-quality gloss paper, features higher-end used cars and some new car lease deals. The two will make Knight Ridder the leader in free-distribution auto publications in the market.

Goff said, "Combined with cars.com in Fort Worth and Star-Telegram classifieds, Knight Ridder offers the widest range of options to advertisers in the market. We intend to continue publishing both utilizing the existing dedicated sales teams."

Knight Ridder is one of the nation's leading providers of news, information and advertising, in print and online. The company publishes 32 daily newspapers in 29 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.5 million daily and 11.0 million Sunday. It has Web sites in all of its markets and a variety of investments in Internet and technology companies. It publishes a growing portfolio of targeted publications and maintains investments in two newsprint companies. The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops and manages the company's online properties. It is the founder and operator of Real Cities (www.RealCities.com), the largest national network of city and regional Web sites in more than 110 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are headquartered in San Jose, Calif. (NR)