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Jeff Jarvis to Consult for About, Inc.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 2005--About, Inc. announced today that Jeff Jarvis, journalist, creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly magazine and president and creative director of Advance.net, will sign on as a consultant, focusing on improving reader interaction and retention on About.com. Mr. Jarvis, whose Web site, Buzzmachine.com, is one of the most influential media blogs on the Web, will advise Scott B. Meyer, president of About, Inc.
"We're pleased to tap into Jeff's expertise," said Mr. Meyer. "There is a tremendous opportunity forAbout.com to become a center for ideas in all of our 475 topics. Based on our statistics, the About.com audience has always had the desire to participate on our GuideSites, and the focus for the foreseeable future will be promoting a more meaningful dialog with our readers. Jeff is well suited to make an immediate and positive impact on our goal of providing the most practical, actionable information on the Web whenever and wherever our readers want it."

Mr. Jarvis, 50, joined Advance.net in 1994, overseeing the Internet division and strategy for Advance Publications, Inc. Previously, he was television critic for TV Guide from 1991 to 1997. From 1990 to 1991, he was Sunday editor for the New York Daily News. In 1988, he created Entertainment Weekly, where he served as the magazine's creator and founding managing editor until 1990. Mr. Jarvis was also a television critic for People magazine from 1981 to 1989, and has been a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Chicago Tribune. He is the writer of the blog BuzzMachine.com.

Mr. Jarvis earned a B.S.J. from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

About About.com

Founded in 1997, About.com is the leading online source for original consumer information and advice and was acquired in March 2005 by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2004 revenues of $3.3 billion, which includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other newspapers, eight network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. As a top 15 Web property, About.com holds a valued role in the lives of more than 20 million Internet users. The success of About.com centers around a unique Guide System that features 23 content channels and promotes original content from more than 475 topical advisors or "Guides." The Guides are the heart and soul of the About.com experience, sharing their passions across 50,000+ topics and offering actionable information and advice that is always useful, practical and personally relevant. With more than 1 million pieces of original content and approximately 400 million page views per month, About.com's robust library stands as the largest of its kind on the Web today, maintaining its position as one of the Web's most popular destinations.

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