TO BUSINESS EDITOR:

            Kevin Neary Appointed Senior Vice President of Finance

NEW YORK, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- PRIMEDIA Inc. (NYSE: PRM), the leading targeted media company, announced today two senior leadership appointments for its Consumer Media and Magazine Group (CMMG.) David P. Kirchhoff (37) has been named senior vice president and Chief Financial Officer and Kevin Neary (39) has been appointed senior vice president of finance. Mr. Kirchhoff replaces former CMMG CFO Linda Jenkins, who will retire after seventeen years with the company. Mr. Kirchhoff will report to David Ferm, President and CEO of PRIMEDIA's Consumer Magazine and Media Group. Mr. Neary will report to Mr. Kirchhoff.

Mr. Kirchhoff joins PRIMEDIA after working for the highly successful Weightwatchers.com, Inc where he served as senior vice president of strategy and business development since 2000, before assuming the additional responsibilities of CFO in January 2003. In this role, Kirchhoff led a multi-functional team across the organization. Before going to Weightwatchers.com, Mr. Kirchhoff spent time at Pepsico, Inc. as director of corporate strategy and development and was a founding member of the Washington DC office of the Boston Consulting Group.

Kevin Neary has spent the past twelve years in various leadership positions at PRIMEDIA. Most recently, Neary served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of PRIMEDIA's Television Group, which includes Channel One, Films for the Humanities and Sciences, and Primedia Digital Video where he was responsible for financial functions and strategic planning. Prior to that, Mr. Neary was the director of acquisition analysis, overseeing PRIMEDIA's financial areas of due diligence. Before joining PRIMEDIA, Mr. Neary was an audit manager at Ernst & Young.

"David's extensive background in corporate strategy, development and finance make him the ideal person to lead the CMMG financial group going forward," said Mr. Ferm. "As an experienced leader and strategic thinker with a strong pedigree, David brings to PRIMEDIA the organizational, operating and financial acumen critical to the long-term success of our business unit."

"We are also pleased to welcome Kevin to the CMMG family. He has a deep understanding of PRIMEDIA's many media assets and businesses and know he will bolster David and the entire finance team," added Ferm.

About PRIMEDIA Inc.

PRIMEDIA is the largest targeted media company with leading positions in consumer and business-to-business markets. Our properties deliver content via print, along with video, the Internet and live events and offer highly effective advertising and marketing solutions in some of the most sought after niche markets. With 2002 sales from continuing businesses of $1.6 billion, PRIMEDIA is the #1 special interest magazine publisher in the U.S. with more than 250 titles. Our well known brands include Motor Trend, Automobile, New York, Fly Fisherman, Power & Motoryacht, Ward's Auto World, and Registered Rep. The company is also the #1 producer and distributor of free consumer guides, including Apartment Guides. PRIMEDIA Television's leading brand is the Channel One Network and About is one of the largest sources of original content on the Internet. PRIMEDIA's stock symbol is: NYSE: PRM. More information about the company can be found at www.primedia.com.

     Contacts:
     Investors:   Jim Magrone, 
     Media:       Whit Clay, 

SOURCE  PRIMEDIA Inc.