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New Partnership Makes Knight Ridder Newspapers Available to the Visually Impaired

New Partnership Makes Knight Ridder Newspapers Available to the Visually Impaired

Published 12-20-02

Submitted by Knight Ridder

SAN JOSE, CA - Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) today announced a partnership between Knight Ridder Digital and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to provide the content of the company's newspapers to visually impaired people.

In addition to greatly expanding the selection of newspapers, this arrangement is on target with NFB-NEWSLINE(R)'s timeliness goals, because it taps into Knight Ridder Digital's automated nightly XML feed from the papers. This means articles will be available soon after a paper goes to press.

"We're glad to extend the value of our newspapers in the communities they serve. For the first time in many communities, sight-impaired customers will be able to access their local newspaper early in the morning, and then branch through it -- like all other readers -- picking and choosing what they want," said Ken Doctor, VP of Content Services for Knight Ridder Digital. "Knight Ridder's investment in digital technology allows us to deliver most of our papers to NFB, just as soon as the stories are sent to press. We're proud to be part of the NFB-NEWSLINE(R) program."

"Every paper participating in NFB-NEWSLINE(R) is helping blind people achieve independence and equality through access to information," said Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "Knight Ridder's commitment to NFB-NEWSLINE(R) makes it a leader in access technology initiatives for the blind."

NFB began introducing NFB-NEWSLINE(R), which is free of charge to users, in markets throughout the country in 1996. Users who have completed an application with the NFB call a toll-free number to hear articles from the current day, prior day or prior Sunday newspaper. An important feature allows callers to branch through the paper, choosing or skipping parts of the paper as they wish. They can also search for articles containing words they spell out on a touchtone phone.

Rather than waiting for volunteer readers to create audiotapes, NFB-NEWSLINE(R) allows instant access to newspaper content by using technology that creates synthetic speech, which is improving as developers strive to make it more natural. More than 80 U.S. dailies take part in NFB-NEWSLINE(R), including 28 Knight Ridder papers, including The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, San Jose Mercury News, The Charlotte Observer, The Kansas City Star and St. Paul Pioneer Press. For more information on NFB-NEWSLINE(R), visit http://www.nfb.org/newsline1.htm.

Knight Ridder is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 32 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.5 million daily and 12.1 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies.

Knight Ridder Digital operates Web sites for all of the company's newspapers. It creates and maintains a variety of online services, including Real Cities (http://www.RealCities.com), a national network of city and regional destination sites in 56 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are located in San Jose, Calif.

The National Federation of the Blind, with more than 50,000 members and 700 local and state affiliates and chapters, is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. As a consumer and advocacy organization, NFB is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.

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