TO BUSINESS EDITOR:

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) announced today that the company's fourth quarter/year end earnings release conference call with financial analysts will be accessible to the media and the general public via live Internet Webcast and by dial-in conference capabilities. The discussion will cover results of operations for the fourth fiscal quarter and the year, and may include forward-looking information.

Knight Ridder Chairman and CEO Tony Ridder will host the call at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) on Jan. 21, 2004.

The call will be broadcast live via Webcast and will be accessible through the Webcast page of Knight Ridder's Web site, http://www.knightridder.com/investing,/webcast.html, America Online, Motley Fool and a variety of other services, including CCBN's Individual Investor Center and CCBN's StreetEvents for institutional investors. Knight Ridder will continue to make the Webcast version of the conference call available at http://www.knightridder.com for seven days after the call.

A limited number of dial-in lines will be available on a listen-only basis. To access the conference call, dial 1-, (International callers, dial 1- at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. Telephonic replays of the conference call will be available for seven days after the call. Call 1- (International callers, dial 1-) The access code for the telephonic replay is 4099112.

The company also announced the date of its First Quarter 2004 Earnings Conference Call: April 26, 2004.

Certain statements contained in this report are forward-looking. They are based on management's current knowledge of factors affecting Knight Ridder's business. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated, depending upon -- but not limited to -- the effects of interest rates, of national and local economies on revenue, of the evolution of the Internet, of unforeseen changes in the price of newsprint and of negotiations and relations with labor unions.

Knight Ridder 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 85 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are headquartered in San Jose, Calif.

SOURCE  Knight Ridder