Knight Ridder / Tribune standardizes on Macromedia FreeHand
Worldwide Distributor of News and Informational Graphics Partners with Leading Provider of Internet Authoring Technologies

San Francisco, Calif and Miami, Fla.—August 13, 1998—Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) and Knight Ridder / Tribune today announced that the Knight Ridder / Tribune Information Services (KRT) has standardized on Macromedia FreeHand™ for creating vector-based graphics and illustrations. Effective December 20, 1998, the company will switch to FreeHand and standardize on the FreeHand file format for distribution of graphics to Knight Ridder / Tribune's over four hundred associated newspapers worldwide. Switching to FreeHand enables KRT artists to more easily produce high quality graphics and multipublish them in both print and Internet formats.

"FreeHand offers enhanced creative tools combined with an intuitive and highly customizable interface," said George Rorick, Graphics Director at Knight Ridder / Tribune. "This, plus the built-in ability to export in the compact Flash format, make FreeHand the best choice for rapidly creating high quality, breaking-news graphics for both print and the Internet. FreeHand is hands-down more Web friendly than any other professional-level Illustration application available."

Since the release of its newest version earlier this year, FreeHand has been drawing rave reviews from users and press alike. Designers have welcomed FreeHand 8's innovative creative features such as lenses for magnification and transparency, as well as its ability to export graphics in the popular Flash™ format for deployment on the Web. Macromedia recently announced partnerships with Netscape Communications Corp. and Microsoft ensuring that the Flash player is included with every Netscape browser and comes pre-installed with the Windows 98 operating system, making the Flash format a de facto standard for vectors on the Web.

"Knight Ridder / Tribune is a terrific example of a company leading the way in multipublishing-the next wave of graphics production, in which designers output simultaneously to PostScript for print and Flash (.swf) for the Internet," said David Mendels, co-general manager of Macromedia's Web Publishing Business Unit. "We are very excited to be working with Knight Ridder / Tribune, and about the role played by Macromedia technologies in fulfilling the content production needs of the newspaper industry as it expands to take advantage of the Web."

About Macromedia FreeHand
Macromedia FreeHand is the tool of choice for designers creating and producing illustrations and layouts for print and the Web. FreeHand's uses range from commercial line art illustrations and newspaper infographics to mixed media pieces that combine line art with bitmapped images and typography, as well as graphic elements, interfaces, and animations for the Internet. FreeHand is sold independently or with Flash and Insta.html as part of the Design in Motion Suite. For more information, please visit www.macromedia.com/software/freehand.

About Macromedia Flash
Macromedia Flash products bring compelling, interactive multimedia content to life on the Web. Professional designers use the Flash authoring tool to create and deliver compact, fast, and beautiful vector-based graphics and animation on the Internet. The free Flash player enables Web consumers to display Flash content that streams, or plays, as it downloads, even over standard 28.8 kps modems. The player technology is included in every Web browser from Netscape Communications Corp., and comes pre-installed in the Windows '98 operating system. In addition, Macromedia recently published the popular Flash file format (.swf) as an open Internet binary standard with widespread support from a number of industry-leading companies. For more information, visit www.flash.com.

About Knight Ridder / Tribune
Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services (KRT) is a joint venture of Knight Ridder and the Tribune Co. KRT provides news stories, photos, print and animated news and feature graphics, illustrations, caricatures, paginated news and feature products, material for young readers, and interactive news products to news organizations around the world.

About Macromedia
Macromedia's mission is to add life to the Web. By providing its award-winning Web Publishing, Web Traffic, and Web Learning solutions to Web designers, consumers, and the enterprise, Macromedia is delivering a completely new generation of Internet tools and technologies designed to transform the Web experience. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 550 employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at http://macromedia.com. Macromedia also hosts one of the most engaging entertainment sites on the Web at http://www.shockrave.com.

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FreeHand, Flash, and ShockRave are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., as indicated. Other company names, brand names and product names may be trademark(s) of others.