TO BUSINESS EDITOR:

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) will make a presentation concerning its newspaper and digital businesses at the Smith Barney Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecom Conference Jan. 6, 2004. The conference will be accessible to the media and the general public via live Internet audio Webcast.

Knight Ridder's presentation will take place at 5 p.m. EST (3 p.m. MST) Jan. 6 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix.

The presentations will be audiocast live via Webcast accessible through the Knight Ridder Web site at http://www.knightridder.com/investing/webcast.html . Replays will be available for seven days.

Certain statements contained in the presentations will be 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