EX-99.2 5 ex99_2.htm EXHIBIT 99.2

Message

NEWS RELEASE

 

KNIGHT RIDDER

 

50 WEST SAN FERNANDO ST.

 

SAN JOSE, CA 95113

Knight Ridder Releases September Statistical Report

          SAN JOSE, Oct. 17, 2003 – (KRI:NYSE) – Total advertising revenue was up 0.5% in September and was flat for the year to date. For the month, retail was up 1.9%; it was up 0.7% for the year to date. General was up 7.8% for the month and 11.2% year to date. Classified was down 3.8% for the month and down 4.8% year to date.
          Retail strengthened somewhat in many markets.
          In the general advertising category, strength continued to be in telecommunications in most markets with additional growth in automotive, airlines/travel and pharmaceuticals.
          Total operating revenue was up 1.4% for the month and up 0.1% for the year to date.
          For the month, total ad revenue was up 3.9% in St. Paul, 2.5% in Philadelphia, 2.5% in Columbia, 2.4% in Fort Worth, 1.7% in Contra Costa, 1.2% in Akron and 0.4% in San Jose. The other large markets were soft. Preprints inserted were up 13.9% for the month and up 10.5% for the year to date.
          Retail revenue was up 9.8% in Philadelphia, 8.1% in St. Paul, 6.6% in Columbia, 4.2% in Fort Worth, 3.3% in San Jose and 0.2% in Kansas City.
          General advertising was up 36.3% in Contra Costa, 28.1% in Akron, 18.4% in San Jose, 16.5% in Fort Worth, 10.0% in Charlotte, 8.4% in Philadelphia and 5.0% in Kansas City.
          Classified revenue was soft in all large markets except Saint Paul and Miami, which were up 4.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Recruitment was down 15.7% (down 26.6% in San Jose) for the month and down 19.3% year to date. Automotive was up 0.6% for the month and down 0.7% for the year to date. Real estate was up 6.9% for the month and up 7.8% for the year to date.  
          Circulation revenue was down 3.2% for the month and down 3.9% for the year to date. Daily copies were down 1.2% for the month and down 0.1% for the year to date. Sunday copies were down 1.2% for the month and up 0.4% for the year to date.
          Other revenue was up 28.7% for the month, primarily due to an increase in online revenue of more than 50%, an increase in earnings from Detroit and an increase in commercial print revenue. For the year to date, other revenue was up 15.9%.

          Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) is the nation’s second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.3 million daily and 12.1 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company’s Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops and manages the company’s online properties. It is the founder and operator of Real Cities (www.RealCities.com), the largest national network of city and regional Web sites in more than 80 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are located in San Jose, Calif.

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          For more information, call Vice President/Corporate Relations Polk Laffoon at 408-938-7838 (e-mail: plaffoon@knightridder.com), or Director/Corporate Communications Lee Ann Schlatter at 408-938-7839 (e-mail: lschlatter@knightridder.com), or visit Knight Ridder’s Web site at www.knightridder.com.

STATISTICAL REPORT
For the period of 09/01/03 - 09/28/03

 

 

September

 

 

 

Year-to-Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003

 

2002

 

Percent
Change

 

2003

 

2002

 

Percent
Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVENUE ($000) - See Notes 1 & 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

82,069

 

 

80,567

 

 

1.9

%

 

777,741

 

 

772,129

 

 

0.7

%

General

 

 

24,627

 

 

22,840

 

 

7.8

%

 

238,733

 

 

214,669

 

 

11.2

%

Classified

 

 

63,689

 

 

66,188

 

 

-3.8

%

 

592,254

 

 

622,155

 

 

-4.8

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

170,385

 

 

169,595

 

 

0.5

%

 

1,608,728

 

 

1,608,953

 

 

0.0

%

Circulation

 

 

36,227

 

 

37,428

 

 

-3.2

%

 

353,265

 

 

367,774

 

 

-3.9

%

Other Revenue

 

 

15,338

 

 

11,919

 

 

28.7

%

 

122,327

 

 

105,578

 

 

15.9

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Operating Revenue

 

 

221,950

 

 

218,942

 

 

1.4

%

 

2,084,320

 

 

2,082,305

 

 

0.1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AVERAGE CIRCULATION
(000’s of copies including Detroit) - Notes 1 & 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morning

 

 

3,651

 

 

3,680

 

 

-0.8

%

 

3,594

 

 

3,589

 

 

0.1

%

Evening

 

 

183

 

 

202

 

 

-9.4

%

 

189

 

 

197

 

 

-4.4

%

Daily

 

 

3,834

 

 

3,882

 

 

-1.2

%

 

3,783

 

 

3,786

 

 

-0.1

%

Sunday

 

 

5,167

 

 

5,230

 

 

-1.2

%

 

5,143

 

 

5,123

 

 

0.4

%

ADVERTISING LINAGE
(000’s of six-column inches) - Notes 1 & 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full-Run ROP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

1,105.6

 

 

1,194.9

 

 

-7.5

%

 

10,707.0

 

 

11,336.3

 

 

-5.6

%

General

 

 

202.7

 

 

199.0

 

 

1.9

%

 

1,945.2

 

 

1,808.8

 

 

7.5

%

Classified

 

 

1,488.9

 

 

1,491.0

 

 

-0.1

%

 

13,925.5

 

 

13,721.8

 

 

1.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

2,797.2

 

 

2,884.9

 

 

-3.0

%

 

26,577.7

 

 

26,866.9

 

 

-1.1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factored Part-Run ROP

 

 

193.2

 

 

184.3

 

 

4.8

%

 

1,740.8

 

 

1,658.7

 

 

5.0

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL PREPRINTS INSERTED

 

 

607,198

 

 

532,985

 

 

13.9

%

 

5,557,690

 

 

5,030,647

 

 

10.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statistical Report
For the period of 09/01/03 - 09/28/03

 

 

September

 

Year-to-Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003

 

2002

 

Percent
Change

 

2003

 

2002

 

Percent
Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FULL-RUN ROP ADVERTISING LINAGE DATA
By Markets (000’s of six-column inches) - Notes 1 & 2

Akron Beacon Journal

 

 

121.1

 

 

115.2

 

 

5.1

%

 

1,155.9

 

 

1,030.6

 

 

12.1

%

Charlotte Observer

 

 

135.0

 

 

141.4

 

 

-4.5

%

 

1,244.9

 

 

1,317.3

 

 

-5.5

%

Columbia State

 

 

92.4

 

 

94.9

 

 

-2.6

%

 

909.7

 

 

874.6

 

 

4.0

%

Contra Costa (Note 3)

 

 

129.0

 

 

120.3

 

 

7.2

%

 

1,174.4

 

 

1,093.4

 

 

7.4

%

Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, Journal Gazette

 

 

108.2

 

 

124.4

 

 

-13.0

%

 

1,028.6

 

 

1,068.9

 

 

-3.8

%

Fort Worth Star Telegram

 

 

168.5

 

 

177.2

 

 

-4.9

%

 

1,681.8

 

 

1,704.9

 

 

-1.4

%

Kansas City Star

 

 

156.1

 

 

163.2

 

 

-4.4

%

 

1,462.0

 

 

1,490.4

 

 

-2.0

%

Lexington Herald-Leader

 

 

93.9

 

 

94.1

 

 

-0.2

%

 

876.9

 

 

864.7

 

 

1.4

%

Miami Herald & el Nuevo Herald

 

 

147.3

 

 

156.3

 

 

-5.8

%

 

1,504.8

 

 

1,438.2

 

 

4.6

%

Philadelphia Newspapers

 

 

177.8

 

 

181.4

 

 

-2.0

%

 

1,692.7

 

 

1,785.4

 

 

-5.2

%

St. Paul Pioneer Press

 

 

113.8

 

 

99.7

 

 

14.1

%

 

948.9

 

 

862.5

 

 

10.0

%

San Jose Mercury News

 

 

188.3

 

 

199.0

 

 

-5.4

%

 

1,793.8

 

 

1,897.2

 

 

-5.5

%

Wichita Eagle

 

 

69.7

 

 

69.9

 

 

-0.3

%

 

661.0

 

 

660.9

 

 

0.0

%

All Other Dailies

 

 

1,096.1

 

 

1,147.9

 

 

-4.5

%

 

10,442.3

 

 

10,777.9

 

 

-3.1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total  -  Full-Run ROP

 

 

2,797.2

 

 

2,884.9

 

 

-3.0

%

 

26,577.7

 

 

26,866.9

 

 

-1.1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note 1 - The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press operate under a joint operating agreement as Detroit Newspapers (DN). Revenue and linage are excluded for 2003 and 2002.

Note 2 - Measured by individual Knight Ridder newspapers. Where necessary, certain previously reported linage has been restated to be consistent with measurement guidelines currently in use.

Note 3 - Full-run ROP advertising linage represents the sum of full-run ROP linage for each of Contra Costa’s three newspapers.

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For further information, call Polk Laffoon IV at 408-938-7838