ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 22, 2004 - ProQuest Information and Learning announces an expanded agreement with The McClatchy Company to offer additional McClatchy newspapers in ProQuest databases. The agreement includes worldwide electronic distribution rights to eight full-text newspapers from Alaska, California, Minnesota, the Pacific Northwest and the Carolinas.

The McClatchy Company, based in Sacramento, is a leading newspaper and Internet publisher of 12 daily and 18 community newspapers with a combined circulation of 1.4 million daily and 1.9 million on Sunday.  The company’s many awards include 12 Pulitzer Prizes.  ProQuest Information and Learning, a unit of ProQuest Company, creates and publishes databases for libraries and educational institutions worldwide.

The eight newspaper titles include the Anchorage Daily News, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), Rock Hill (SC) Herald, The News Tribune (Tacoma WA), The Sacramento Bee, The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), The Fresno Bee, and The Modesto Bee.  Four of the newspapers – those from Californiaand Raleigh, NC- will be new to ProQuest and available to users of ProQuest’s Newsstand databases beginning in January 2005.

“Our customers look to ProQuest to provide the broadest possible coverage of newspapers in our databases. This agreement will give them more geographical coverage as well as access to two key state capital titles from Californiaand North Carolina.,” said Rod Gauvin, ProQuest senior vice president, marketing and publishing.

“McClatchy papers are deeply rooted in these communities. We’ve been serving some of them for almost 150 years, and there is no better record of life in these communities than the one you find in our papers”said Howard Weaver, vice president news at McClatchy.

Free trials of ProQuest products are available. Libraries may receive more information by contacting their account representative at 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3183 or 3452 (outside the U.S., call +44-1-223-215-512) or pqsales@il.proquest.com. Editors may call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 6489 or email pr@il.proquest.com.

About McClatchy

The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) is a leading newspaper and Internet publisher dedicated to quality journalism, free expression and community service. Building on a 147-year legacy of independence, the company's newspapers and websites are steadfast defenders of First Amendment values and advocates for the communities they serve. Headquartered in Sacramento, Ca., the company has 12 daily and 18 community newspapers with a combined average circulation of 1.4 million daily and 1.9 million Sunday. Over the decades, McClatchy newspapers have received many honors, including 12 Pulitzer Prizes, three of which were gold medals for public service. McClatchy’s largest newspaper is the Star Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which it acquired in 1998.  The oldest paper, The Sacramento Bee, was founded in 1857 during the Gold Rush and is the company’s second largest.  The company has about 9,300 employees, and they remain committed to the same principle that spurred founding editor James McClatchy in 1857: quality journalism is the bedrock of a successful newspaper business.

About ProQuest
ProQuest creates specialized information resources and technologies that propel successful research, discovery, and lifelong learning. A global leader in serving libraries of all types, ProQuest offers the expertise of such respected brands as Chadwyck-Healey™, UMI®, SIRS®, and eLibrary®. With Serials Solutions®, Ulrich's™, RefWorks®, COS™, Dialog® and now Bowker® part of the ProQuest brand family, the company supports the breadth of the information community with innovative discovery solutions that power the business of books and the best in research experience.

More than a content provider or aggregator, ProQuest is an information partner, creating indispensable research solutions that connect people and information. Through innovative, user-centered discovery technology, ProQuest offers billions of pages of global content that includes historical newspapers, dissertations, and uniquely relevant resources for researchers of any age and sophistication—including content not likely to be digitized by others. Inspired by its customers and their end users, ProQuest is working toward a future that blends information accessibility with community to further enhance learning and encourage lifelong enrichment.

For more information, visit www.proquest.com or the ProQuest parent company website, www.cig.com.