NEW YORK – AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) announced the launch of Patch’s 100th site, Morristown Patch (http://morristown.patch.com). AOL also announced that Patch plans to rapidly expand to more than 500 U.S. neighborhoods in 20 states by the end of 2010. Additionally, with over 500 journalists still to be hired, Patch expects to be the largest hirer of full-time journalists in the U.S. this year.

“Today’s launch of our 100th site is a significant milestone for us. We began with just three Patch communities in February 2009, and have since made incredible progress toward fulfilling our core mission of providing comprehensive information and trusted, professional news coverage to towns and communities,” said Warren Webster, President, Patch Media. “We believe Patch is a revolutionary and efficient approach to producing relevant, quality local journalism at scale, and we couldn’t be more excited about expanding into hundreds of new communities across America this year.”

Every Patch site is run by one professional local editor who, along with freelancers, provides quality original news and information to its community. As part of its expansion, Patch continues to hire experienced professional journalists to fill important new roles in the organization.

In addition to being a destination for original content produced by professional journalists, Patch is a platform for community members to comment on stories, share their opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar.

Patch sites are already up and running in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. The 2010 expansion includes plans to extend Patch’s reach into more than a dozen new states including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.

Recent Patch hires

Patch has completed its hiring of senior editorial field management with four regionally based Editorial Directors. They report to Brian Farnham, Patch’s Editor-in-Chief.

Marcia Parker (San Ramon, California), Editorial Director of the West Coast Region, joins Patch from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as Assistant Dean for six years. She is the founding Editor-in-Chief, of Tri Valley Magazine, former Director of Programming at AOL Small Business, and has worked at Crain’s New York Business, United Press International and the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Tim Windsor (Baltimore, Maryland), Editorial Director of the South Region, joins Patch from Johns Hopkins University, where he was Director of Digital Strategy. He is the former Vice President and General Manager of Baltimore Sun Interactive.
Anthony Duignan-Cabrera (Colts Neck, New Jersey), Editorial Director of the Northeast Region, joins Patch from CNNgo.com, where he was Editorial Director, charged with developing and driving the content strategy of CNN’s travel/culture/entertainment portal for the Southeast Asian region. He previously worked at Imaginova, ABC News and People magazine.
Sherry Skalko (Chicago, Illinois), Editorial Director of the Midwest Region, joins Patch from the Online News Association, where she served in several capacities, including training, membership, and development, and as editor of Journalists.org. She previously worked as an editor and content strategist at Tribune Interactive, SunSentinel.com and ESPN.com.
Additionally, Patch has recently hired 52 Regional Editors across 13 states.

“Our editorial staff members share the outstanding qualities that define all of Patch’s professional journalists across the country – a passion for journalism, top-notch credentials, and a commitment to redefining local coverage in a shifting media landscape,” said Brian Farnham, Patch’s Editor-in-Chief. “We are delighted to welcome these new directors and regional editors, along with the hundreds of local editors who will be joining us across the country this year.”

“All news is essentially local, and the pace at which Patch has grown shows that the demand for meaningful community news and information is alive and well,” said Phil Meyer, Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a member of the Patch Editorial Advisory Board. “Patch’s strength lies in the hyper-relevant nature of the information it provides to users in the communities and the robustness of its journalism. Patch has made a demonstrable leap toward filling a distinct gap in news and information at the hyper-local level.”

Morristown, NJ: 100th Patch site

Morristown, NJ is steeped in history and is characterized as “the military capital of the American Revolution” because of its strategic role in the war for independence from Great Britain. It’s also where Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872) developed the telegraph. Today, the downtown shopping area and business district are centered around Morristown Green, a former market square from Morristown’s colonial days.

A “Patch 100” logo was created in celebration of the Morristown site launch and is reflected on all 100 Patch sites today. In honor of the milestone, an estimated 400 Patch employees across the country will participate in a volunteer day in the communities in which they live and work. Patch will also donate advertising space to charitable organizations in its local communities. All of this is part of Patch’s ongoing “Give 5” volunteer program.

Patch is also working with the Morristown Clean Communities Program to “Adopt a Spot.” Patch employees will be responsible for caring for this spot, a playground near the center of town, throughout the year. A number of Patch employees will be volunteering at the playground today.

About Patch

Patch is a local content and advertising platform. Patch Media Corporation currently operates 100 community-focused sites serving towns in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. Patch is making an important investment in local journalism by placing professional journalists in each town it serves to encourage community participation and provide original, trusted coverage for each individual town. In addition to professional journalists producing original content, Patch is a platform for community members to comment on stories, share their opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. For more information about Patch, go to www.patch.com.

The 100 sites include: CALIFORNIA: Agoura Hills, Albany, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Culver City, Danville-Alamo, Hermosa Beach, Lamorinda, Manhattan Beach, Mill Valley, Pleasanton, Redondo Beach, San Anselmo-Fairfax, San Rafael, San Ramon, Walnut Creek and West Hollywood; CONNECTICUT: Brookfield, Darien, Fairfield, Monroe, New Canaan, Newtown, Ridgefield, Southbury, Westport and Wilton; ILLINOIS: La Grange and Skokie; MARYLAND: College Park and Riverdale Park-University Park; MASSACHUSETTS: Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Concord, Lexington, Marblehead, Melrose, Milton, Needham, Reading, Wellesley, Westwood and Winchester; NEW JERSEY: Basking Ridge, Bridgewater, Caldwells, Chatham, Cranford, Hoboken, Hopatcong, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, Montclair, Montville, Morristown, Ridgewood, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, South Orange, Springfield, Summit, West Orange, Westfield and Wyckoff; NEW YORK: Bayport-Blue Point, Bedford-Katonah, Bellmore, Bronxville-Eastchester, Chappaqua-Mount Kisco, Commack, Garden City, Glen Cove, Harrison, Hastings-Dobbs Ferry, Huntington, Larchmont-Mamaroneck, Massapequa, Merrick, New City, Nyack-Piermont, Patchogue, Port Chester, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Rye, Sachem, Sayville, Scarsdale, Smithtown, Syosset, Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow, Three Village, West Islip and Yorktown; RHODE ISLAND: Middletown, Newport and Portsmouth; and VIRGINIA: Reston.

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL’s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL’s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL’s consumer offerings.

PHILADELPHIA – Hundreds of entries were submitted, but only a select few earned the proverbial “Best Of” in the field of advertising, last night, at The Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Philly Ad Club played host to its annual ADDY Awards, celebrating the regions best advertisers.

During a star-studded presentation, top executives collected awards in more than 80 categories. A total of 166 honors were awarded. Six of those awards went out to a select group vying for the ADDY’s most-coveted “Best Of” honors. And they are:

BEST OF SHOW – Neiman Group, PA Department of Health, Full Apologies Campaign

BEST OF MIXED MEDIA – Mangos, Cannondale Bicycle Corporation, HiMOD Campaign

BEST OF INTERACTIVE – 1 Trick Pony, Turner Classic Movies, Summer Under the Stars

BEST OF PRINT – Neiman Group, Harbour House Crabs, Harbour House Crabs Campaign

BEST OF TELEVISION – Sleeping Tree Films, AT&T, National TV, Studying – AT&T

BEST OF PUBLIC SERVICE – Neiman Group, PA Department of Health, Public Service, Full Apologies Campaign

NOTE: Images of “Best Of” entries can be downloaded at – http://bornphotos.com/bests.zip.

The Philly Ad Club proudly boasts more than 60 years as the voice of the greater Philadelphia area communications industry and would like to thank all of this years sponsors, including, Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News/philly.com – title sponsor of the 2009 Philadelphia ADDY awards; corporate sponsors – MY PHL 17 and Razorfish; gold ADDY awards sponsor – Blue Design, NFL, and Shooters; silver ADDY awards sponsors – Baker Sound and Business Wire; and bronze ADDY awards sponsors – SJ Miller Group, Serif Design, and Cubist Media Group.

The Philly Ad Club, a non-profit organization, serves the industry’s professionals with distinction. As one of the region’s largest and most active trade associations, more than 1,200 advertising, marketing and media professionals work to improve and promote high standards in the advertising industry.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AAF represents 50,000 professionals who guide the nation’s leading brands and corporations to advertising excellence. The 210 ad clubs across the nation connect the industry with an academic base of 210 collegiate chapters to promote the well-being of advertising, educate peers, and present the industry with its future leaders.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – 1105 Government Information Group, the leading provider of integrated information and media for the government information technology (IT) market, announced that it is promoting FOSE 2009 and the GovSec, U.S. Law Conference and Exhibition via social networking initiatives. Utilizing Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as other blogs and Web forums, FOSE and GovSec, U.S. Law are reaching federal IT managers, creating excitement about the events, and educating previous/prospective attendees about educational opportunities and featured exhibits.

FOSE – the largest trade show for government technology professionals – is co-located this year with GovSec, U.S. Law. The events are scheduled for March 10-12, 2009 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

“Social networking initiatives are changing the communications landscape and redefining how citizens interact with government,” said Christina Condos, Vice President of Events for 1105 Government Information Group. “We are connecting with hundreds of new and existing show attendees through online communities. Once there, attendees are not only sharing information about the scheduled events, but are also understanding new ways to use social networking initiatives to improve their relationships with taxpayers, vendors, and customers.”

Below are a list of social networking sites with links to information about FOSE and GovSec, U.S. Law:

* LinkedIn http://tinyurl.com/clxkz5

* Twitter http://www.twitter.com/FOSE2009

* Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/FOSE-2009/50718708094

“Social networking sites meet customers where they live and work – on the Internet,” said Mitch Arnowitz, Managing Director, Tuvel Communications. “1105 Government Information Group is truly an early adopter of this technology, helping federal IT managers to understand the benefits of social networking through practical application.”

Since 1976, FOSE has been in the forefront of the government technology revolution, contributing to many technological and creative developments that have helped shape public and private sector initiatives. FOSE remains the premier meeting and solutions marketplace for government technology and program management professionals. Featuring groundbreaking education, smart solutions, and unparalleled networking events and programs, FOSE brings together an audience that shares a passion for computing and technology.

For information on all the conference program and exhibitors participating at FOSE 2009, please visit: http://www.fose.com or for information about GovSec, U.S. Law, please visit http://www.govsecinfo.com/. To register as press for both events, contact A.J. Guenther at 571-323-2585, ext. 2130 or aj@connellyworks.com.

About GovSec (March 11-12, 2009 www.govsecinfo.com)

GovSec is the premier conference and exposition for government security. Established in 2002, GovSec features tools, systems, and products that meet the comprehensive security needs of federal, state, and local governments and the U.S. military, including: asset protection; cyber and information protection; and the integration of these critical functions. The 2009 theme, “convergence of physical and logical security” will optimize the event’s co-location with FOSE and explore how physical and IT security can be enhanced by collaboration.

About U.S. Law (March 11-12, 2009 www.govsecinfo.com)

The U.S. Law Enforcement Conference and Exposition provides an unparalleled forum that drives federal, state, and local interaction within the law enforcement communities and offers products and solutions that meet the ever-changing needs and roles of today’s law enforcement agencies. U.S. Law addresses the needs of federal law enforcement and promotes collaboration and coordination between those officers and state and local police. Additionally, this year’s program will focus on public safety IT and how agencies across the nation can better coordinate and collaborate through advancements in IT, information sharing, and interoperable communications. The event also provides state and local officers with insight on how homeland security concerns will affect local jurisdictions and offers them valuable tools to meet these challenges.

About 1105 Government Information Group

1105 Government Information Group is the leading provider of integrated information and media for the government information technology market. Our comprehensive portfolio of print, online, event, custom media and research products distinctively serves the information needs of the government IT buying team—agency executives, program managers, IT managers and systems integrators—across all segments of federal, state and local government. Flagship news and information brands include Defense Systems, Federal Computer Week, FEND, GCN, and Washington Technology. Flagship events include the Federal 100, FOSE, GCN Awards, Government Leadership Summit, GovSec, U.S. Law, Washington Technology Top 100 and a series of conferences focused on collaboration, networking and education. www.1105govinfo.com

PHILADELPHIA – The Philly Ad Club will pay tribute to the region’s best and brightest advertising minds on March 5, from 6:30-10 p.m. as the Philadelphia Museum of Art plays host to this years ADDY Awards ceremony. Once again, this Philly Ad Club annual competition drew hundreds of entries for the organization’s highest honor. Guests at the event will also enjoy a private showing of the Paul Cezanne exhibit.

Aptly situated this year at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, surrounded by the efforts of the world’s greatest and best known artists, the ADDY Awards ceremony is annually attended by a who’s who of the Philadelphia advertising community, to recognize the finest advertising campaigns and creative thinkers in the city. ADDY Awards winners are chosen by judges from leading agencies across the country, including this year from DraftFCB, Ogilvy & Mather, Vigilante Advertising, DDB, Burrell, and Smashing Ideas.

This three-tiered competition begins at a local level with 210 AAF member clubs competing nationwide to be rewarded for creative excellence in the art of advertising. Winners are forwarded to the District 2 competition, one of 14 regional competitions, and lastly battle to be named the best in the industry at the AAF National Competition.

The Philly Ad Club proudly boasts more than 60 years as the voice of the greater Philadelphia area communications industry and would like to thank all of this years sponsors, including Inquirer/Daily News/philly.com – title sponsor of the 2009 Philadelphia ADDY awards; corporate sponsors – MY PHL 17 and Razorfish; gold ADDY awards sponsors – Blue Design, NFL Films, and Shooters; silver ADDY awards sponsors – Baker Sound and Business Wire; and bronze ADDY awards sponsors – SJ Miller Group, Serif Design, and Cubist Media Group.

The Philly Ad Club, a non-profit organization, serves the industry’s professionals with distinction. As one of the region’s largest and most active trade associations, more than 1,200 advertising, marketing and media professionals work to improve and promote high standards in the advertising industry.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AAF represents 50,000 professionals who guide the nation’s leading brands and corporations to advertising excellence. The 210 ad clubs across the nation connect the industry with an academic base of hundreds of collegiate chapters to promote the well-being of advertising, educate peers, and present the industry with its future leaders.

As a research scientist and cultural anthropologist, Ito primarily focuses on how children and young adults use communications technologies to establish and build relationships. She has studied a wide range of new media practices, from the production, distribution and marketing practices of children’s software to the cultural effects of online gaming, social communities and other forms of digital media.

Ito has worked on a variety of research projects, including the recently completed study titled Kids’ Informal Learning with Digital Media, a three-year project examining how new media and digital technologies change the way children learn, play, socialize and participate in everyday life. She also coordinated 24/7: A DIY (do-it-yourself) Video Summit, an Internet video event that taught amateur video makers about digital and online video production and Internet distribution.

As an author, Ito co-edited Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life and co-wrote Networked Publics, a study of how social networking technologies transform the way people interact in day-to-day situations. She holds two doctorates from Stanford University in education and anthropology, and is currently a research scientist at the Institute for Multimedia Literacy (University of Southern California). Prior to this position, Ito worked for the Institute for Research and Learning, Xerox PARC, Tokyo University, the National Institute for Educational Research in Japan and Apple Computer.

The Technology Luncheon will also feature the presentation of the prestigious NAB Engineering Achievement Awards. Since 1959, the awards have honored individuals who have made outstanding achievements and contributions in the broadcast engineering profession.

About the 2009 NAB Show

The NAB Show will take place April 18 – 23, 2009 in Las Vegas (exhibits open April 20). It is the world’s largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums. Complete details are available at www.nabshow.com.

About NAB

The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. As the voice of more than 8,300 radio and television stations, NAB advances their interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday caused an unprecedented number of people to visit media web sites across the globe. WebTrends, a leading provider of web analytics and online marketing solutions, announced that the scalability and reliability of its solutions enabled some of the world’s largest media companies including: NYTimes.com, Reuters, Internet Broadcasting, and China’s largest broadcaster, CCTV to continue to access relevant, timely data despite the massive traffic surges to their sites.

“With the nation and the world riveted on events in Washington, D.C., for a remarkable day in history, Internet Broadcasting delivered record setting results that reinforce our leadership position as a reliable and scalable web publishing solution,” said Jeff Kimball, chief operating officer of Internet Broadcasting. “WebTrends robust solutions consistently provide us with the ability to track and report on key information we need to remain relevant to readers and to provide value to our partners.”

Among WebTrends solutions used by industry leading media companies are:

* WebTrends On Demand. Comprehensive marketing insight in an easy-to-implement hosted (software as a service) solution that leverages WebTrends state-of-the-art hosted operations centers.
* WebTrends Analytics. Comprehensive marketing insight in an on-premise software solution that offers customers maximum control and flexibility.
* WebTrends Marketing Warehouse. Sophisticated data integration and advanced segmentation and targeting capabilities delivered through hosted or software solutions.

“From the beginning of President Obama’s campaign through his election and inauguration, WebTrends customers have seen traffic to their media sites continually increase to record levels,” said Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, vice president of marketing for WebTrends. “These past few months have demonstrated that our solutions are capable of providing consistent and reliable data and analysis without fail, no matter the traffic levels.”

About WebTrends Inc.

WebTrends provides web analytics and online marketing solutions to optimize marketing campaigns and customer engagement. WebTrends Marketing Lab delivers the industry’s most recognized analytics, SEM, and visitor intelligence solutions to enable companies to understand their customers, drive customer engagement, and enhance marketing and brand awareness. Thousands of leading global organizations, including Microsoft, Reuters, General Mills and Ticketmaster have chosen WebTrends business solutions and client services expertise to optimize their customers’ online experiences.

For more information, visit: www.webtrends.com

ATLANTA – Nexidia, a leading provider of rich media search and speech analytics solutions, announced that MSNBC.com, the number one news site*, selected Nexidia’s rich media applications to enhance video across MSNBC.com and other affiliated sites.

As the leader in online news, MSNBC.com provides innovative technology that enables its viewers to have a rich and rewarding news experience. In collaboration with Nexidia, MSNBC.com will give end users a larger and more relevant selection of news video to view online. Nexidia’s software integrates with MSNBC.com’s to expand the quantity and enhance the discoverability of video content at MSNBC.com.

Nexidia delivers the fastest, most accurate way to index and search video content in the industry. Content providers, such as MSNBC.com, can use Nexidia’s products to make on-air or archived video content more accessible and searchable by users and editors of their websites. Using Nexidia’s technology, video content is easier to search and navigate. An example of this is the new MSNBC.com inaugural player, featuring inauguration speeches dating back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933.

Nexidia also offers solutions to enable the automation of editing and tagging video content for improved consistency, discovery and syndication. For video content creators, Nexidia’s competitively priced products can extend basic metadata search and enhance video navigation with unique features that can create opportunities for increased revenue and customer satisfaction. Unlike other solutions, Nexidia’s owned and patented search technologies can be integrated into customers’ existing search infrastructure and work flow.

“We are excited about our collaboration with Nexidia and look forward to providing a unique user experience through the integration of their products and technologies into our platform, which will provide additional depth and breadth to our dynamic video experience,” said JoAnne Kennedy, Vice President of Technology for MSNBC.com.

“Nexidia is pleased to be providing the tools that enable MSNBC.com to realize their vision of delivering all on air content through multiple online channels, in a way that is easily discoverable and richly described. We believe this will further extend their leadership position,” says Drew Lanham, Senior Vice President/General Manager of Media for Nexidia.

About Nexidia

Nexidia is the audio and video search company with patented technologies and breakthrough applications that enable customers to quickly gain new insight, build competitive advantage and realize the amazing possibilities now discoverable in audio and video content from call centers, media outlets, government intelligence and legal discovery. For more information, please visit www.nexidia.com.

About MSNBC.com

MSNBC.com delivers a fuller spectrum of news. Drawing on its award-winning original journalism, NBC News heritage, trusted sources and Microsoft’s advanced technologies; the site presents compelling, diverse and visually engaging stories on the consumer’s platform of choice. Based in Redmond, WA, MSNBC.com is a joint venture of Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and NBC Universal (NYSE:GE).

*The MSNBC Digital Network (MSNBC.com) was the number one Current Events and Global News site with more than 37 million unique visitors in June, 2008. Source: Nielsen Online.

Clear Channel Outdoor

* Opportunity to reach local residents and out-of-state visitors as they travel to and around the city to different events and locations
* Transit package utilizes the city’s transportation system and use prime properties such as buses, taxi media, and bus and transit shelters around the greater metro area

Clear Channel Radio

* Washington, D.C. radio stations will be a key source of information with exclusive Inauguration-related content
* Radio personality Steve Harvey will be broadcasting from Washington, D.C. next week from the Gaylord Hotel on Monday and Tuesday, and from local radio station WHUR’s studios, discussing the events and paying tribute to the significance of Obama’s election
* Other Clear Channel Radio stations around the country will also broadcast live from the nation’s capital
* Online, Clear Channel’s network of over 800 radio station websites will feature extensive inauguration coverage, including photos, latest news, podcasts and news videos, all available on demand
* National inauguration coverage will also include an exclusive radio stream called Inauguration Radio that will be available via hundreds of radio station websites, on HD, and on iheartradio, Clear Channel’s iPhone application, beginning on Monday, January 19th at 7:00 am ET
* Hosted by national correspondent Paul Westcott, Inauguration Radio will take a look back at this year’s historic election with insight and analysis from Shane D’Aprile of Politics Magazine, replay some of the most famous Inaugural addresses of all time, and broadcast live coverage of the swearing in ceremony and the Texas Black Tie and Boots ball
* Clear Channel Radio is offering special advertising packages on all of its local radio stations as well as a complete online advertising package for advertisers to reach Inauguration Radio’s national audience

WHO:
Executives from Clear Channel Outdoor and Clear Channel Radio are available to discuss how advertisers are taking advantage of these exceptional advertising opportunities.

WHY:
No other event compares to this kind of reach, and already industries across the board are taking advantage of the opportunity, including beverage and consumer goods companies, unions, banks and brokerages, local museums, and realtors.

- Marchex Participated in the 19th Annual Citigroup Global Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference
The live audio Webcast and archived version of the Marchex presentation is available by visiting Events in the Investor Relations section of the Marchex Web site (http://www.marchex.com/investors/events.html).

REDMOND, Wash. – PlayNetwork, a global leader in providing integrated media experiences for businesses, announced it has been selected as a “Leader Award” winner in the International 2008 Summit Emerging Media Award (EMA) competition for its work with Scheels. The Award is based on PlayNetwork’s extensive digital signage installation for Scheels’ new 295,000 square-foot retail destination at the “Legends at Sparks Marina” complex in Sparks, Nevada. PlayNetwork also provided custom music programming and systems integration as part of its work with Scheels.

The Summit EMA competition is based on the premise that advertising is consistently at the forefront of the technological evolution of communication. The Award is the perfect complement to one of the strongest years in PlayNetwork history. In FY2008, PlayNetwork subscriber accounts jumped 68 percent and recurring revenue recorded a 31 percent increase, driven in large-part by contract renewals and/or expansions from key customers. The company’s ongoing financial growth and innovative client work have earned PlayNetwork spots on the 2008 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for Washington State and the 2008 Inc. 5000, on which PlayNetwork ranked No. 27 of 50 in the top media companies category.

“Those involved in today’s emerging media technologies are the leaders who are establishing tomorrow’s avenues of advertising communications,” said Jocelyn Luciano, Executive Director for the Summit International Awards (SIA). “Most communication professionals recognize that established avenues of communication can be reliable and safe. Developing and engaging in emerging media technologies, along with creative messaging and market awareness, is often a difficult criterion which makes earning a Summit EMA a significant achievement.”

“To be recognized by the Summit International Awards and its panel of judges with representatives from some of the most innovative agencies today is an incredible honor. The fact that PlayNetwork is among only 12 percent of more than 700 entries from 11 countries to earn recognition shows we have established ourselves as a sought after provider for creative, high-impact branded media experiences,” said Craig Hubbell, Executive Vice President, Media Services for PlayNetwork.

The SIA organization is devoted to furthering excellence in the communications industry. It administers rigorous award competitions throughout the year with the goal of recognizing companies and individuals that do more than what is expected.

Throughout its 15 year history, the organization has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of communication excellence. Companies and individuals from more than 50 countries across five continents participate annually in its three awards programs: Summit Creative Award, Summit Emerging Media Award and Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award. Additional information about the SIA and its competitions is available at http://www.summitawards.com.

About PlayNetwork

Established in 1996, Redmond, Washington-based PlayNetwork, Inc. is an integrated media services leader for worldwide business. PlayNetwork provides branded video (digital signage), audio (music and messaging), promotional media, quality audio/video systems, and professional services that deliver compelling experiences for retail, hospitality, health and fitness, retail banking and other businesses. The XM for Business service is now managed by PlayNetwork through a new strategic relationship with XM Satellite Radio. More information is available at www.playnetwork.com or www.xm4biz.com.

SAN FRANCISCO – 1020 Placecast, the first online advertising solution to target highly sought-after audiences using location-based information across the Web, mobile, Wi-Fi networks and email, announced interactive advertising trends to watch in 2009. Trends to watch include better metrics to understand effectiveness, increased concerns about user privacy and mainstream video adoption by online advertisers.

Looking back, 2008 marked a turning point in online advertising. Despite the slowing of growth in overall advertising spending, online has finally achieved its place at the table in mainstream media plans and continues to prove its value relative to traditional media. It was also a year for increased public scrutiny of industry practices as the medium achieves scale and prominence with advertisers.

“The year ahead will be difficult in many respects, but also very exciting,” said Placecast CEO Alistair Goodman. “We expect marketers who need to do more with less will put pressure on agencies, media providers, publishers and measurement firms to deliver more value. At the same time, tough market conditions always produce new ways of solving old problems. We see big opportunities for advertisers to find new ways to drive better performance for their campaigns.”

Six key trends identified in this release are:

1. The value of user data is questionable.

2009 will mark the year advertisers begin to look for alternatives to collecting and mining user data to improve the performance of campaigns. For several years, online marketers have attempted to incorporate increasingly large amounts of user data into the marketing equation with the goal of improving targeting and performance. Unfortunately, advertiser reviews of this approach are nearly universal: “anticipointed.” We now find ourselves in wave 2.0 of this effort in which firms are undertaking predictive modeling, attempting to analyze even more data in order to predict behaviors. However, these efforts will continue to disappoint and 2009 will mark the year advertisers begin to look for and incorporate new, non-user data sources for improving the performance of campaigns.

2. The Web will be connected to the physical world.

Until recently, the Web was built to ignore physical location. Several recent developments make clear that, beginning in 2009, location will drive the next wave of innovation on the Web. These announcements include: Geode for Firefox, a plug-in that allows the popular browser to determine and share the user’s location; Google’s releases of Android, Chrome and the Gears Location API, all of which incorporate location data; Fire Eagle from Yahoo! for location data management; more than 500 iPhone applications now using GPS location data as a critical component; and the news that Microsoft Windows 7 will include location data at the operating-system level for any application. All of these innovations and others still to come will bring location information into the mainstream Web-browsing experience, providing users with a way to connect their online experience to the real world.

For advertisers, this trend presages a host of new services launching in 2009 using location in various ways. Initial, simple applications from marketers will include couponing and advertising to users in proximity to potential offerings of interest (such as stores, cafés, restaurants, etc.). More advanced approaches will apply this new trove of location data to improve relevance, understand consumer intent and profile audiences. In the long term, we can expect location data to be incorporated into search algorithms as another way of increasing relevance, and also into performance marketing, where better relevance will drive significant improvements in performance.

3. Heightened privacy concerns plant the seed for regulation.

2008 will certainly go down as a year of turmoil for data mining models like NebuAd and Adzilla, and also as a year that brought small victories for privacy advocates. A new administration in Washington will bring new FTC regulators, and a climate that favors more standards and regulation. Despite the proactive efforts of industry organizations like the IAB and the NAI, 2009 will kick off a wave of new discussions about the collection and application of user data, with the balance of power shifting away from the advertising industry and towards the user.

President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of Tom Wheeler, former head of major wireless organization CTIA, as a technology adviser also indicates we can expect to see a particular emphasis on mobile technology for the new administration.

4. View-through metrics gain traction in the downturn.

Down economies focus more attention and diligence on understanding the drivers of performance for online campaigns. 2009 will see more mainstream adoption of view-through as a complement to traditional metrics like click-through. View-through (also referred to as post-impression measurement) is a method for gauging the impact of an ad that a user sees but does not click on. It works by recording the exposure of a user to a specific display ad, then measures when that user returns to the advertiser’s site in a later session.

View-through gives marketers an ability to attribute value to the many impressions they deliver which do not immediately trigger an action. With average click-through rates on display ads dropping below 0.1% on average, marketers are recognizing that view-through provides a more complete understanding of how campaigns really drive traffic, and how impressions lift brand metrics such as awareness, favorability and intent.

5. The accessibility of display ad inventory will increase dramatically.

The combination of a downturn in the economy and continued automation of media planning and buying tools means that buyers will have easy access to display inventory in 2009. Even as broad networks consolidate or compress, exchanges are providing easy access for buyers to find reach and efficiency. The major players, including Google, Yahoo!, MSN and AOL, are capturing the largest share of available remnant inventory across their ad network offerings, and exchanges will continue to refine their operational and business models.

With the impressions themselves becoming ever more liquid and accessible through networks and exchanges, inventory value will be driven by services and technology. Next generation targeting approaches, which go beyond content and behavioral methods, will capture the attention of the buying community. Improved efficiency and valuable insights from reporting will give buyers the ability to focus media purchases even more efficiently over time.

6. Online video consumption will continue to grow.

In 2009, we will see significant increases in the online distribution and consumption of professionally-produced video content. This top tier video content will garner a majority of the video advertising spend. CPMs may contract slightly with broader distribution as audiences expect to find the content where they spend their time online. But with consumers in control and watching more video online, overall CPMs will remain quite healthy for video advertising in top content.

Several factors are fueling this trend: first, major advertisers are now thinking about online video at the creative stage and producing purpose-built material for the Web when they develop creative for TV. Secondly, production costs are also coming down, and we are beginning to see critical mass around a standard set of technologies and tools. Lastly, as more dollars migrate away from TV advertising because of the high cost, online video will become the beneficiary as it creates a similar immersive customer experience with TV and Hollywood appeal. Sites like Hulu provide TV-oriented brand advertisers with a captive audience – an example of why video will become a mainstream part of brand marketer advertising budgets in 2009.

About 1020 Placecast, Inc.

1020, Inc. is the developer and owner of Placecast™ Media, the first online advertising solution to target highly sought-after audiences using location-based information across the Web, mobile, and Wi-Fi. 1020’s groundbreaking Placecast service recently earned the company the “OnMedia Top 100” Award, given to game-changing companies in the marketing, branding, advertising, and PR industries. Current advertisers include Microsoft Windows Mobile, FedEx Kinko’s, Avis and Budget Rental Cars and Hyatt Hotels. 1020 is funded by Voyager Capital and Onset Ventures. For more information about Placecast, visit www.placecast.net.

AUSTIN, Texas – ArteWorks SEO at http://www.arteworks.biz has been recognized as the #1 Video Search Engine Optimization firm in the world. The SEO company rankings published by TopSEOs is the trusted guide used by those seeking the best in the internet marketing and search engine optimization industry.

ArteWorks SEO is included in this list for its consistent performance and the superior services rendered to its clients. TopSEOs performs an in depth evaluation of the leading search engine optimization firms in the industry to determine their rankings.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from TopSEOs for video search engine optimization. All indicators are showing the increasing importance of video search engine optimization. We are delivering powerful results for our clients with our proprietary vFlood™ video SEO technology,” said Matt Foster, CEO of ArteWorks SEO.

ArteWorks vFlood™ video SEO technology is a complete video search engine optimization solution, from start to finish. It is not an out of the box product, rather each video search engine optimization campaign is customized with a strategy specific to the client and target industry. vFlood™ includes (but is not limited to):

* scripting, casting and talent
* procurement of location
* filming, production, lighting, professional editing
* special effects and audio effects
* video compression and export into web friendly formats
* embedding of video meta information
* video syndication and provision of “embed video” code for use on third party websites
* clickable links inside of videos are available, including purchase product links
* video interactivity (multiple endings based on user selections, quizzes, etcetera)
* video social media optimization and promotion

For the complete list of the Top 5 Video Search Engine Optimization Companies for December 2008 go to: http://www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-video-seo-companies.

About ArteWorks SEO

ArteWorks SEO, www.arteworks.biz, is an internationally recognized search engine optimization and Internet marketing firm headquartered in Austin, Texas with a satellite office in Seattle, Washington. ArteWorks SEO is ranked in the top 5 search engine optimization firms in the world by several different Internet marketing organizations. For more information, please visit http://www.arteworks.biz.

About TopSEOs

Since its introduction in 2002, TopSEOs has been identified as an independent authority on vendors who supply internet marketing products and services ranging from the best search engine optimization companies to the best pay per click management tools.

AUSTIN, Texas – ArteWorks SEO at http://www.arteworks.biz has been recognized as the #1 provider of SEO site audits in the world. The SEO company rankings published by TopSEOs is the trusted guide used by those seeking the best in the internet marketing and search engine optimization industry.

ArteWorks SEO is included in this list for its consistent performance and the superior services rendered to its clients. TopSEOs performs an in depth evaluation of the leading search engine optimization firms in the industry to determine their rankings. Numerous criteria are considered and clients of ArteWorks SEO were asked to provide feedback on their overall experience with the company as part of the search engine optimization evaluation process.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from TopSEOs which affirms for us and our search engine optimization clients that the in-depth site audit we do is considered the best in the industry. These audits are extensive, we literally review all factors related to search engine optimization and internet marketing and develop a comprehensive strategy for the client,” said Matt Foster, CEO of ArteWorks SEO.

ArteWorks SEO site audits include interviews of key personnel, keyphrase research, competitive intelligence, reviews of on page code, specific page analysis, back end architecture, analytics and usability. Existing social media campaigns are reviewed and existing and potential sources of inbound link bait are examined. A report is provided which includes a comprehensive internet marketing strategy.

For the complete list of the Top 5 Site Audit Companies for November 2008 go to: http://www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-site-audit-companies

About ArteWorks SEO

ArteWorks SEO, www.arteworks.biz, is an internationally recognized search engine optimization and Internet marketing firm headquartered in Austin, Texas with a satellite office in Seattle, Washington. ArteWorks SEO is ranked in the top 5 search engine optimization firms in the world by several different Internet marketing organizations. For more information, please visit http://www.arteworks.biz.

About TopSEOs

Since its introduction in 2002, TopSEOs has been identified as an independent authority on vendors who supply internet marketing products and services ranging from the best search engine optimization companies to the best pay per click management tools.

New York, NY – November 21, 2008 – As part of its continuing effort to engage in public policy related to digital media, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) today announced it has added the position of Vice President of Government Affairs and hired Michael Drobac. Drobac spent years working on Capitol Hill and most recently was Director of Government Affairs for IAC. 

The OPA, which represents the world’s leading providers of high quality, premium online content, is committed to being active in policy debates on behalf of its member companies. As digital media has become a vital part of the lives of consumers, policy makers have taken an increasing role in examining the industry. While welcoming the important role of Congress, the FCC and other regulators, the OPA has sought to ensure these groups understand the industry’s economic fundamentals, its efforts at self-regulation and the important services it provides to consumers.

“Michael will play a critical role in making certain the voice of quality online publishers is heard on Capitol Hill and throughout Washington,” said OPA President Pam Horan. “Having both worked in the internet industry and served high profile members of Congress, Michael brings a perfect blend of experience for leading our public affairs efforts.”

Since 2006, Drobac has served as the Director of Government Affairs for IAC/Interactive Corp. He began his public policy work as a legislative aide in the office of Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), and went on to serve Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN). Drobac is a graduate of Stanford University, the University of Oregon School of Law and received his Masters of Law from the London School of Economics. Most recently, Drobac served as a volunteer on the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

Horan continued, “By following the debates in Washington and working closely with policy makers, we can help ensure the best interests of both consumers and publishers are served. It’s particularly important that legislators and regulators fully understand the essential role of digital media in providing consumers with vital information, unique services and engaging entertainment.”

About the OPA

Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA member sites have a combined, unduplicated reach of 149.3 million visitors, or 79% percent of the total U.S. Internet audience (Source: comScore Media Metrix, August 2008 combined home/work/university data). For more information, go to www.online-publishers.org.

NEW YORK – AOL’s Platform-A  announced that it launched, in partnership with T-Mobile USA, an unprecedented billion-impression Web advertising campaign across Platform-A during a two-day period on November 10 – 11. The first-of-its-kind advertising buy underscores Platform-A’s ability to reach more U.S. online consumers – more than 90% — than any other online advertising business. Platform-A includes AOL’s owned-and-operated sites, along with the thousands of sites in the Advertising.com third-party network.

Platform-A and T-Mobile collaborated to create the “T-Mobile Billion Block,” the most-expansive two-day ad buy in Platform-A history and will spotlight the T-Mobile G1 with Google, the first Android™-powered mobile phone. Over a two-day period, the T-Mobile G1 will dominate a significant amount of AOL and other Platform-A inventory, and it’s estimated that approximately 81.5 million consumers will be exposed to the exciting new phone over the campaign’s 48-hour run.

“The innovation behind the T-Mobile Billion Block clearly demonstrates the value marketers place on the combination of reach, impact and innovation that only Platform-A can offer,” said Lynda Clarizio, President of Platform-A. “It also spotlights the role online media will play in the upcoming buying season, with strategic marketers like T-Mobile relying on the near-universal reach of Platform-A to connect with United States consumers in an effective, efficient and engaging way.”

“The T-Mobile G1 offers a rich, accessible mobile Web experience for the masses, so we want to drive that message to the broadest range of U.S. consumers possible,” said Brett Dennis, director, branded entertainment and media management, T-Mobile USA. “The groundbreaking experience of the T-Mobile G1 is really what motivated us to pursue this exceptional online advertising program.”

Late last year, Platform-A was established by merging AOL’s advertising business, Advertising.com, TACODA, and Quigo to provide marketers with an efficient, effective means to leverage display, video, mobile, contextual, affiliate and search marketing solutions. The mission of Platform-A is to help marketers harness digital media to build brands and enhance online performance.

To date, Platform-A has fully integrated its salesforces, and developed one insertion order and other processes to streamline ad buying. In addition, Platform-A has accelerated its product development efforts with recent launches including Spot Marketplace, enabling advertisers to bid on nonreserved inventory across AOL’s Web sites; PubAccess, a self-service interface enabling Web sites to place their inventory for sale in Platform-A’s third party display network; audience targeting across Platform-A; and the creation of a 300 x 600 ad unit across AOL’s homepages and co-branded sites.

About Platform-A

Platform-A, AOL’s advertising business, is the industry’s largest digital advertising platform, offering the most comprehensive suite of marketing solutions, powered by the Web’s best advertising technologies. Platform-A includes AOL’s leading media properties – AOL.com, AIM, MapQuest, and more – and Advertising.com’s third-party networks. Platform-A also includes TACODA’s audience insights and behavioral targeting; Quigo, a site- and content-targeting solution; ADTECH, an international digital ad serving business; Third Screen Media, a mobile ad serving network; and buy.at, an affiliate marketing solution. Platform-A currently has operations in the United States, nine countries across Europe, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and Japan through a joint venture with Mitsui. Learn more at http://www.platform-a.com.

About T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG’s Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the world’s leading companies in mobile communications. By the end of the third quarter of 2008, 127 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — more than 32 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM, the world’s most widely used digital wireless standard. T-Mobile’s innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. For more information, please visit www.t-mobile.com. T-Mobile and the magenta color are federally registered trademarks of Deutsche Telekom AG.

CAMBRIDGE, MA – November 19, 2008 – Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leader in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, today announced the release of the third edition of its quarterly “State of the Internet” report available for download at www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet. Leveraging published reports and information available on its network, Akamai’s quarterly report provides insight into key Internet statistics such as origin of attack traffic, network outages and broadband connectivity levels across the globe. As the Company’s third published edition, the report also now provides a quarter-over-quarter view into trends.

Global connectivity saw big advances in the third quarter, with various undersea cable projects getting underway or nearing completion, the commercial launch of WiMAX services in a number of countries, and the announcement of fiber-to-the-premises services that will bring gigabit-speed connections to subscribers in Japan, the Ukraine, and the Netherlands.

While global Internet penetration remained stable compared to the second quarter of 2008, interesting trends emerged within United States-based Web traffic. Delaware, Washington, Virginia, Texas, and Georgia all experienced quarterly declines of more than 40% for narrowband connectivity (<256 Kbps) as compared to the second quarter. South Dakota, Maine, and Hawaii nearly doubled their rates of high broadband connectivity (>5 Mbps) quarter over quarter, while Oklahoma and Kentucky are the only two U.S. states to see consecutive quarter-over-quarter growth in high broadband connectivity since Q4 2007. Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have the highest levels of Internet penetration in the United States.

Regarding global connection speeds, South Korea had the highest levels of high broadband connectivity for the third straight quarter. In the United States, Delaware also maintained its top position, with 55% of connections to Akamai occurring at 5 Mbps or greater. Looking at observed “narrowband” connections, Mayotte and Equatorial Guinea were the “slowest” countries, with 97% and 94% of connections to Akamai, respectively, occurring at speeds below 256 Kbps. In the United States, the District of Columbia and Washington State continued to have the highest percentages of observed connections below 256 Kbps. However, these regions also saw a significant quarter-over-quarter decline in narrowband connection percentages, down 25% and 46% respectively as compared to the second quarter.

Akamai’s unique level of visibility into the connection speeds of systems issuing requests to the Akamai network has created a one-of-a-kind view into broadband adoption around the globe. Leveraging that data, Akamai’s quarterly “State of the Internet” report identifies both the countries and U.S. states with the fastest and slowest average connection speeds exhibited by IP addresses originating from those respective geographies. To learn more, and to access the archive of past reports, please visit www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet.

The Akamai Difference
Akamai® provides market-leading managed services for powering rich media, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. Having pioneered the content delivery market one decade ago, Akamai’s services have been adopted by the world’s most recognized brands across diverse industries. The alternative to centralized Web infrastructure, Akamai’s global network of tens of thousands of distributed servers provides the scale, reliability, insight and performance for businesses to succeed online. Akamai has transformed the Internet into a more viable place to inform, entertain, interact, and collaborate. To experience The Akamai Difference, visit www.akamai.com.

NEW YORK & WASHINGTON – interCLICK, Inc. (OTCBB: ICLK), the fastest growing ad network in the US(1) and The Humane Society of the United States have teamed up to raise awareness of Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, an initiative that will appear on California’s November 2008 ballot. A “YES” vote passing Proposition 2 will improve food safety and reduce animal suffering.

interCLICK is supporting The Humane Society’s Prop 2 awareness campaign by running a series of banner ads across its network, free of charge, through election day on November 4. The ads will appear across interCLICK’s network that reaches two thirds of the US online population.

“All animals, including those raised for food, deserve humane treatment. Passing Prop 2 will alleviate some of the worst abuses of animals on factory farms,” said Carrie Lewis, internet marketing manager for The Humane Society of the United States. “We are deeply appreciative of interCLICK’s efforts to support this cause and the use of its online advertising reach and resources to encourage voters to take action on November 4 in favor of this initiative.”

Prop 2 will provide more humane treatment of millions of farm animals by phasing out their confinement in small crates and cages. The law would take effect in 2015 and reduce the suffering of nearly 20 million animals confined on California factory farms. In addition to helping prevent cruelty to animals, Prop 2 was created to achieve related goals including improving consumer health and safety, supporting family farmers, and safeguarding the environment by protecting air and water. To learn more about Prop 2 in California, visit YESonProp2.com.

“As one of the nation’s largest ad networks, we are in a fortunate position to be able to support causes, like California’s Prop 2, by donating free ad impressions to raise awareness and encourage voter participation,” said Michael Katz, president, interCLICK, Inc. “We applaud the commitment of The Humane Society for its support of this initiative to protect animals from unacceptable abuse and we stand behind their efforts 100 percent.”

(1) According to comScore Media Metrix, June 2008

About The Humane Society

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — on the web at http://www.humanesociety.org.

About interCLICK

interCLICK, Inc., operates the interCLICK Network, an online ad network that combines advanced behavioral targeting with site by site reporting, allowing advertisers to identify and track their desired audience on an unprecedented level. interCLICK offers advanced proprietary demographic, behavioral, contextual, geographic and retargeting technologies across a network of name brand publishers to ensure the right message is delivered to a precise audience in a brand friendly environment. interCLICK is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI). For more information about the interCLICK Network, visit http://www.interclick.com.

As part of the SingleBrand Advertising Platform, the new Ad Marketplace presents a complete onscreen inventory of scheduled mobile messaging campaigns by each TV show. SinglePoint’s targeting technology offers aggregated viewer data that allows further targeting by demographic, geographic, behavioral, and psychographic criteria. Time and location-sensitive campaigns are also possible. Publishers (networks and show producers) have the added benefit of fully showcasing their mobile ad inventory in one location to maximize their use of inventory and competitive pricing.

Advertisers simply login to the Web-based Ad Marketplace to view available inventory, pricing and demographic reach. Once these selections are made and the advertising is uploaded with associated preferences, this information is transmitted to the publisher in real-time for viewing and approval. Publishers login to the Ad Marketplace to define new inventory or review pending inventory buys, and can accept or reject advertising requests. Once approved, the advertisements are queued for serving into the scheduled campaigns. As the ad campaigns are running, advertisers and publishers can both view real-time performance metrics, such as impressions served, response rates and revenue earned.

“SingleBrand Ad Marketplace represents a milestone in mobile advertising,” said Rich Begert, President and CEO of SinglePoint. “Brands and advertisers can now directly access this unique, highly targeted inventory in real-time for an efficient and cost-effective marketplace experience. Within the month of September alone we served close to 5 million ad eligible text messages.”

By using the SingleBrand Advertising Platform, comprised of the Ad-Insertion Platform and Ad Marketplace, advertisers can easily buy inventory and submit ads for direct insertion into TV-originated mobile messaging campaigns quickly and easily. Ad formats that can be used include text and multimedia messages (SMS and MMS), enabling direct response campaigns such as click-to-call, click-to-link, and click-to-SMS. SingleBrand Ad Marketplace is integrated with the SinglePoint product suite which supports applications such as ticketing/coupons, video streaming and content download, but can also be customized and integrated with third-party campaign creation and advertiser management solutions.

About SinglePoint

SinglePoint provides media interactivity and mobile advertising to a total audience of more than 260 million North American wireless subscribers. Powering 84% of television to mobile interactivity in North America today with over 60 million television-driven iTV transactions processed in the last six months(a), SinglePoint works in partnership with entertainment, media companies, brand managers, advertising agencies and mobile networks. SinglePoint offers a full suite of services that make it fast and easy to create, launch and manage mobile driven interactive TV campaigns and standalone nationwide campaigns. The full suite of offered services include TV/Web/radio voting and polling, text2screen, text and multimedia message ad insertion, advertising video overlay, ticketing/coupons, video streaming and download, billing, reporting and analytics. Investors include Ignition Partners, Intel Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Northwest Venture Associates, Rally Capital LLC, and SeaPoint Ventures. For more information, visit http://www.singlepoint.com.

(a) Refers to percentage of TV transactions in the second half of 2007. Source: Nielsen Mobile, Premium SMS Report, March 2008.

Under the new network, media organizations selected by POLITICO’s editors will have access to POLITICO’s top stories for use both online and in their print newspapers. The POLITICO Network also brings a new revenue model to these media partners: POLITICO will sell national advertising to be placed on partners’ websites, and revenue from those ads will be shared between POLITICO and the media outlets.

“As more and more news outlets close or scale back their Washington, D.C. bureaus, organizations will now have access to POLITICO’s unique, up-to-the minute political coverage,” said Jim VandeHei, executive editor of POLITICO. “Rather than having to pay for a wire service to get political news, these papers get the benefit of using POLITICO’s content while making money on ads they don’t have to sell.”

This is the first vertical network that enables major brand advertisers to reach political and government enthusiasts who are wealthy, well-educated and engaged consumers — a group that is one of the most valued audiences on the Web. In fact, according to the most recent Nielson ratings, POLITICO attracts more male readers ages 18 to 49, more readers with an annual household income greater than $150,000 and more readers with post-graduate degrees than do top business-focused websites like Forbes.com, WSJ.com and CNNMoney.com.

“Advertisers want to reach this demographic, but until now, they did so primarily through sports or business websites. The POLITICO Network provides an efficient way to engage these consumer influencers through the content that matters to them,” said Roy Schwartz, vice president of business development for POLITICO. “Furthermore, we can help monetize the political pages of online publishers in ways that others cannot.”

Initial members include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (ajc.com), The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philly.com), The Denver Post (DenverPost.com), the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland.com), Breitbart.com and more than 30 other major news outlets.

POLITICO.com has one of the largest politically oriented audiences on the Internet, reaching more than 7 million unique visitors a month, with an average time spent per visit of more than 10 minutes. Now POLITICO is leveraging its expertise to deliver content and brand marketing campaigns to its partners while substantially expanding its reach of this influential audience. The POLITICO Network has more than 10 million unique visitors and is growing, with new members joining each week.

Adify powers the network with key technology and services required to execute successful advertising campaigns, including ad management, trafficking, optimizing, reporting, and payment and technical support functions. Adify’s platform is capable of delivering standard banner advertising, content sponsorships, and video, image and super-rich media advertising for its various network partners.

“In addition to building a leading online source of political news and content, POLITICO has developed a unique expertise in monetizing political content online. With the launch of the network, they will be helping other sites maximize the value of their political content,” said Russ Fradin, president of Adify. “The political pages of these sites are becoming the destination of choice for many valuable and influential politically minded individuals. The POLITICO Network is the solution for reaching them.”

About Adify

Adify Corp. (http://www.adify.com) is the premier vertical ad network management company and an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Cox TMI Inc., part of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, one of the nation’s leading media companies and providers of automotive services.

About Politico

POLITICO is a Washington, D.C.-based political journalism organization that distributes its content via the Internet, newspaper, television and radio. Its coverage includes Congress, Washington lobbying and the 2008 presidential election. POLITICO and POLITICO.com launched in January 2007 with the mission of covering politics with enterprise, style and impact. POLITICO is a publication of Capitol News Company LLC.

She will work in the organization’s Washington, D.C. office, reporting to IAB Vice President of Public Policy Mike Zaneis, on legislative, regulatory, and public policy issues that affect IAB members.
“IAB is committed to promoting the interactive advertising industry’s public policy agenda, and it’s important that we maintain a strong presence in Washington, D.C.,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “This is particularly true at a time when the online advertising industry’s successful efforts to self-regulate are being challenged by ill-informed and ill-advised regulatory proposals that would severely curtail the ability of businesses to market effectively on the Internet.”

“I am excited to welcome Alison Pepper,” said Zaneis. “She has extensive experience lobbying at both the state and Federal levels. She is a skilled attorney who brings a deep practical background from within the industry to IAB.”

Pepper has a truly impressive background, having worked at Experian as Manager for Government Affairs, in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, she was the State and Local Government Relations and Public Policy Programs Coordinator at the Public Affairs Council, in Washington, D.C. Pepper received a J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law and is a member of the Georgia Bar Association.  She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia.

About the IAB:
Founded in 1996, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net) represents over 375 leading interactive companies that actively engage in and support the sale of interactive advertising. IAB members are responsible for selling over 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices, fields interactive effectiveness research, and educates marketers, agencies, and media companies, as well as the wider business community, about the value of interactive advertising.

The IAB is the trade association for the interactive media industry in the United States. It represents hundreds of small interactive publishers and provides a voice for them in Washington, D.C. on important legislative and regulatory issues.

“Small business Web sites are the Mom & Pop grocery stores of the World Wide Web. Just as the local retailer anchors a geographic community, these sites anchor communities of interest that span towns, cities, states, even nations,” stated Rothenberg. “They do this with their content and they finance their content through advertising.”

Interactive advertising revenues totaled more than $21 billion in 2007 and were estimated at $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008, up 18.2 % over the same period in 2007. Small companies’ share of online ad spending in search engines is more than double the share of medium or large companies, according to the research firm Outsell, Inc. Research done by the consulting firm Booz & Co. for the IAB, the Association of National Advertisers, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies shows that 40% of IAB members’ revenues comes from local businesses.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than 32 million American adults have used online classified ads for selling or buying. eBay, the best known auction site, says 768,000 small businesses across the U.S. use this online marketplace as their primary or secondary marketing channel. There are more than 112 million blogs worldwide; in the U.S., as of July 2006, some 12 million American adults, about 8% of the American population, were publishing their own blogs, which were being read by 57 million others, according to Pew.

“Millions of people are making their livings creating and operating Web venues that house well-targeted advertisements, but these entrepreneurs are being threatened by the specter of unnecessary government regulation that would destroy or severely limit their ability to advertise their wares and services online,” said Rothenberg.

Proposals are currently before the United States Congress and several state legislatures that would constrain online advertising. “The IAB believes that the proposed regulations would have a disproportionately negative impact on small publishers whose advertising sales are largely or entirely managed by ad networks, and that government must be prudent in ensuring that no regulation is drawn that would curtail interactive advertising’s potential to continue to support small business owners,” Rothenberg said.

Recently, the IAB opened a new class of membership for small interactive publishers that offers small publishers special pricing for IAB events, training programs, access to networking events around the country, business insurance and protection programs, and membership to IAB’s new Small Publisher Committee.

Read Randall Rothenberg’s testimony before the House Small Business Committee.

About the IAB:
Founded in 1996, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net) represents over 375 leading interactive companies that actively engage in and support the sale of interactive advertising. IAB members are responsible for selling over 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices, fields interactive effectiveness research, and educates marketers, agencies, and media companies, as well as the wider business community, about the value of interactive advertising.

“Campaigns have been launched at both the Federal and state levels to seek government regulation of many of the core processes and technologies that support interactive advertising, and the potential impact on small publishers can’t be underestimated,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of IAB.

The move comes in response to possible federal US laws that may severely constrain third party online advertising. Small publishers would be the first to take the hit since they heavily rely on ad networks and have little to no direct selling power.

The IAB Small Publisher Membership plan costs only US$ 500 a year and is open to publishers with advertising revenue figures of under US$ 1 million.

Benefits include:
• Discounts for IAB events
• Training programs and webinars designed exclusively for small publishers
• Access to IAB networking events in the US
• Business insurance and protection programs
• Membership in IAB’s new Small Publisher Committee;
• Representation by the IAB in Washington on industry-related public policy issues.

While IAB’s take on the issue of 3rd party ads and ad networks is laudable (debatable, of course), I doubt this initiative will really have an impact on making the small publishers’ voices heard. Sure, the IAB will be able to issue all sort of studies and recommendations from their newly formed Small Publishers Committee and raise awareness on the realities of how smaller sites are being monetized – but will this be enough to counteract the extremely strong lobby of the giant publishers?

New York and Mc Lean, VA, June 10, 2008 — KickApps (www.kickapps.com), the leading on demand social media platform, and Clearspring Technologies Inc., the world’s largest widget syndication and tracking service, today announced a strategic partnership to further accelerate widget usage and monetization. Under the agreement, Clearspring will promote KickApps’ new WYSIWYG Widget Studio (currently in beta), a self-service widget-authoring environment to the Clearspring user base. This will enable Clearspring customers to easily build their own rich-media and interactive widgets with tremendous ease. KickApps will use Clearspring’s powerful distribution and tracking services to provide one-click distribution and in-depth analytics to anyone using the KickApps Platform.

With widgets becoming an integral part of every web publisher and marketer’s arsenal for driving audience growth, the industry is turning its focus to widgets as a platform for advertising. With over 24,000 publishers using KickApps to create and deploy widgets, including some of the world’s largest media & entertainment companies, the company recently launched an internal initiative around the development of WidgeADsTM, KickApps’ new industry standard format for widget advertising. Using Clearspring’s WidgetMedia services, the companies will collaborate on delivering a powerful end-to-end widget advertising solution for publishers and marketers. Clearspring is the No. 1 widget platform in the U.S. tallying 47.5 million unique widget viewers in April 2008, according to comScore’s Widget Metrix report.
“Widgets have proven to be a very effective vehicle for distributing content and marketing messages in a highly viral manner,” said Alex Blum, CEO of KickApps. “As we’ve done with social networking, user-generated content and video players, we’re reducing the barriers to entry for publishers and Madison Ave to begin monetizing widgets using WidgeADs. Our partnership with Clearspring brings together the core pieces that will define this new market opportunity.”

Like next-generation banner ads, widgets are interactive Web applications that contain dynamically updated content, keeping them fresh and relevant to viewers, and driving traffic back to the publisher’s web site. Consumers can easily grab and post widgets that interest them to their own websites, social networking site, personal homepage, blog or desktop. Posted widgets retain their viral capability and can be shared time and again.

“Our vision is to deliver an end-to-end solution enabling marketers and publishers to reap the benefits of the emerging widget channel,” said Hooman Radfar, founder and CEO of Clearspring. “We have created innovative solutions for distribution, tracking, and monetization and we are well on the way to creating the Web’s most efficient widget ad network. In partnering with KickApps we deliver a one-stop shop for any publisher or marketer to create and distribute widgets.”

Clearspring’s advertising solutions are fully integrated with the top ad-serving systems including DoubleClick and Mediaplex. Clearspring also offers a full set of analytics and reporting tools so advertisers can monitor activity as WidgeADs traverse the Web and can manage media placements in response to each widget’s viral performance.

About Kickapps

KickApps provides on demand social media applications that enable web publishers and marketers to grow, engage and monetize online audiences. Its SaaS platform includes social networking, user-generated content, programmable video players, viral Widgets and other applications that are tightly integrated with robust media moderation, member management and reporting. The KickApps Platform seamlessly integrates with any website using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, feeds, Widgets and APIs (REST and SOAP). Customers include: ABC Family, CW Television, Guinness World Records, Scripps Network Interactive, VIBE Magazine, HBO, Cinemax, Cox Television, the Phoenix Suns, the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers and over 21,000 other sites. For more information, visit www.kickapps.com and www.kickdeveloper.com.

About Clearspring

Clearspring is the market’s leading widget syndication, tracking and monetization service, used by the world’s largest media companies, advertisers, and independent widget developers. Clearspring helps publishers and marketers extend their reach to the leading social networks, start pages and blogs and to respond to growing consumer demand for a more personalized desktop, Web, and mobile experience. Headquartered near Washington, D.C., Clearspring offers a comprehensive set of widget creation, distribution, management and monetization services. For more information about Clearspring and how to use widgets in your business or to join the Clearspring developer community, please visit www.clearspring.com.

Paul Rostkowski comes to LucidMedia most recently from Healthline, the health and wellness vertical portal, bringing with him a track record of successful growth and revenue generation. Paul’s addition completes the LucidMedia strategy of becoming a new media company and he joins at a pivotal point in the company’s execution. Before Healthline, Paul served as Hoover’s Vice President of Advertising responsible for their advertising sales strategy, development, and implementation. In this role Paul managed the Ad Sales team and oversaw the Ad Operations group driving nearly 300% growth during his tenure. Prior to joining Hoover’s, Paul was Vice President of Sales, Eastern Region at Winstar Interactive Media based in New York City. While at Winstar Interactive Paul directed the sales team to record interactive ad revenue growth and managed agency relations.

Abderrezak Kamel, most recently with Autonomy where he was heading the Intelligent Content and Application Enablement group, brings over a decade of experience in Information Retrieval and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Abderrezak will oversee the technology roadmap and be responsible for the robustness and relevance of the ClickSense contextual advertising platform. Prior to Autonomy Abderrezak was the Chief Architect and Director of Advanced Product Development at the Semio Corporation which was acquired by LucidMedia, then Entrieva, in 2002. Previously Abderrezak was a PhD student in Computational Semiotics at Leonardo da Vinci University, Paris, France and completed his MS equivalent in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of Montpellier, France in 1994.

Ajay Sravanapudi, President & CEO of LucidMedia, said of Mr. Rostkowski, “Our innovative hyper-targeting solution is rapidly becoming an industry standard for contextual advertising among ad exchanges and publisher optimizers. Having an industry rainmaker like Paul on our team means we are perfectly poised to make the most of the contextual revolution in the advertising industry. Paul has proven he can bring in revenue and oversee the kind of operation we require to succeed as a new media company. He is an advocate for the advertiser with deep agency, network and publisher contacts which makes him a great asset to LucidMedia.”

Ajay went on to comment on their new CTO, “We are delighted to have Abderrezak return to LucidMedia especially after his work with Autonomy. It means a great deal to the team here at LucidMedia and he can hit the ground running. He will play a crucial role in taking the ClickSense engine, which he helped design five years ago, to the next level as the contextual advertising platform of choice for the display advertising industry.”

About LucidMedia:
LucidMedia is a small media company with a big answer to the challenge of lifting display ad revenues. Formally known as Entrieva, LucidMedia was founded in 1999 and launched ClickSense® in 2004. Using the deep contextualization of their patented ClickSense platform, LucidMedia has created a revolutionary new hyper-targeting display ad network built exclusively for advertisers. The LucidMedia Network is the first advertiser-centric ad network that can offer complete brand safety, real accountability, and transparency down to the page-level. LucidMedia is headquartered in Reston Virginia at the heart of the Dulles Technology Corridor only minutes from Washington, D.C. and Dulles International Airport. Today many of the world’s largest interactive agencies, web advertisers, and ad exchanges are relying on LucidMedia to achieve their advertising revenue goals.

RESTON, Va., March 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Entrieva today announced that it is changing its company name to LucidMedia to coincide with the launch of its new contextual ad network. The LucidMedia Network creates high-value online ad inventory using their patented ClickSense contextual advertising engine.

Ajay Sravanapudi, President & CEO of LucidMedia, said, “LucidMedia is taking a radical new advertiser-centric approach to the ad network model by creating a completely transparent new value tier of display ad inventory aggregated exclusively for agencies and advertisers.”

The LucidMedia Network uses ClickSense deep categorization to deliver more than 12,000 micro-segments for content targeting far deeper than anything available before. The new level of insight from the deep ClickSense categorization and detailed Proof Report(tm) is for the first time in history putting complete transparency, accountability and quality control into the hands of the advertiser and their agencies.
“The display ad industry has been desperate for transparency and accountability but opacity has always been a big part of the ad network business model. With ClickSense cataloging every impression we can show advertisers and agencies exactly where every ad dollar is being spent. This is the kind of complete transparency that makes real brand safety and quality control possible; things that have never really been a part of the industry,” added Sravanapudi.

About LucidMedia

LucidMedia is a small media company with a big answer to the challenge of lifting display ad revenues. Formally known as Entrieva, LucidMedia was founded in 1999 and launched ClickSense(r) in 2004. Using the deep contextualization of their patented ClickSense platform, LucidMedia has created a revolutionary new high-value display ad network built exclusively for agencies, advertisers and ad exchanges. The LucidMedia Network is the first advertiser-centric ad network that can offer complete transparency, brand safety and real accountability down to the impression-level. LucidMedia is headquartered in Reston Virginia at the heart of the Dulles Technology Corridor only minutes from Washington, D.C. and Dulles International Airport. Today many of the world’s largest interactive agencies, web advertisers, and ad exchanges are relying on LucidMedia to achieve their advertising revenue goals.

REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 25, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced Engagement Mapping, a new approach to managing and measuring the effectiveness of online campaigns that goes beyond the current “last ad clicked” standard. For the last decade, virtually all ad campaign reporting methodologies associate sales, leads and Web traffic simply to the last click or ad exposure. Engagement Mapping takes into account for the first time all the various online touchpoints and interactions a consumer experiences before an eventual sale.

Based on the Engagement Mapping concept, Microsoft announced the beta of Engagement ROI, an online campaign reporting and optimization solution that will undergo testing by national advertising clients and agencies, including Agência Click + UNICA, Best Western International Inc., BKV, Citi Cards, GSD&M Idea City, Ingenuity Media of The Martin Agency, Initiative, McKinney, MEC Interaction, Mindshare Interaction, Monster Worldwide Inc., Neo@Ogilvy, Sprint and World Vision. Engagement ROI evaluates and assigns measurable value to a consumer’s interaction with ads, giving advertisers and publishers a more complete picture of online behavior.

“The ‘last ad clicked’ is an outdated and flawed approach because it essentially ignores all prior interactions the consumer has with a marketer’s message,” said Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions (APS) Division at Microsoft. “Our Engagement Mapping approach conveys how each ad exposure – whether display, rich media or search, seen multiple times on multiple sites and across many channels – influenced an eventual purchase. We believe it represents a quantum leap for advertisers and publishers who are seeking to maximize their online spends.”

Announcement of the Engagement ROI beta coincided with a keynote speech, “Advertising Ecosystem 2.0,” by McAndrews at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Annual Meeting in Phoenix today.

The Engagement ROI is a fully integrated reporting capability within the Atlas Media Console currently available through Microsoft. Value is assigned and measured on a real-time basis and takes into account the impact that recency, frequency, size and ad format (such as rich media and video) have on a consumer’s online path to action. Engagement ROI is designed to allow advertisers and publishers to manage their campaigns with greater insight and control than previously available through third-party ad serving.

The beta officially begins on March 1, with results expected to be available before the end of the second calendar quarter.

Microsoft Helps You Reach Target Audience — Anywhere, Anytime

At Microsoft, we understand the intersection of the consumer and technology. Our advertising solutions can help you connect with consumers as they access different media at various points throughout the day — from PCs to games to mobile devices — and even more in the future.

Those interested can learn more about Microsoft’s diverse and effective advertising solutions — whether they are a small business or a Fortune 500 company.

“By aggregating the online audiences of quadrantONE’s participating media companies, large national advertisers can immediately access tens of millions of unique visitors in the country’s top markets,” said Dana Hayes, Interim CEO, quadrantONE, and senior vice president for sales of Tribune Interactive. “Each participating company has agreed to dedicate advertising inventory to quadrantONE, so the network can offer customized online campaigns on a highly competitive basis. Imagine placing the same ad across hundreds of local Web sites on the same day with one buy—that’s the power of this network.”

The network has a reach of nearly 50 million monthly unique visitors [Source: Nielsen Online, Dec. 2007] and covers 27 out of the top 30 markets. quadrantONE will, for the first time, offer advertisers the capability to consistently deliver their brands and messages on a national scale through advertising with the well-established and trusted online newspaper and broadcasting sites of the participating media companies.

“For the first time, the media industry will be able to compete effectively for advertising dollars currently going to the national portals and others,” said Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital Ventures. “quadrantONE’s audience is of the highest quality. By networking our Web sites, we have delivered – in one stroke – the reach and scope desired by national advertisers.”

The network will cover the nation’s top markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando, San Antonio, Sarasota, Ft. Lauderdale, San Jose and Albany, N.Y. A full list of participating Web sites is available at www.quadrantONE.com.

Chris Boothe, president/chief activation officer at Starcom USA, said: “When faced with a growing number of fragmented ad media options, particularly on the Web, advertisers are looking for new opportunities and innovative models providing a valuable, measurable consumer experience. quadrantONE steps up to the challenge of the new media future, and on behalf of our advertisers, we appreciate that it provides hyperlocalized opportunities for brand impact that resonate with targeted audiences.”

Starcom handles media planning and buying for some of the world’s biggest brands.

“With the rapid expansion of online inventory, advertisers we talk with are seeking trusted alternatives,” added Steven Ainsley, publisher of The Boston Globe. “Guaranteed placements within quality branded environments, coupled with the ease of a one-order, one-invoice approach to a national buy, makes for a very competitive proposition.”
Lincoln Millstein, senior vice president for digital media at Hearst Newspapers, said, “We now have the ability to offer advertisers the aggregated inventory of our prized content categories such as health, business news, technology, sports, personal finance and auto news. That’s never been possible before.”

In addition to the four owner companies, quadrantONE is open to any affiliate companies that wish to participate.

About Tribune Company
Tribune is America’s largest employee-owned media company, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. In publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company’s broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago’s WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information Web sites complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide audience.

About Gannett Co., Inc.
Gannett (NYSE: GCI) is a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 1,000 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes nearly 300 titles, including 18 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.

About Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation’s largest diversified media companies. Its major interests include ownership of 12 daily and 31 weekly newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle and Albany Times Union; as well as interests in an additional 47 daily and 38 non-daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group which include the Denver Post and Salt Lake Tribune; nearly 200 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations through Hearst-Argyle Television (NYSE:HTV) which reach a combined 18% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel and ESPN; as well as business publishing, including a joint venture interest in Fitch Ratings; Internet businesses, television production, newspaper features distribution and real estate.

About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.