COLE'S NEWSWIRE, Aug. 5, 1999

Aug. 5, 1999
Vol. 5, No. 34

This is a special edition of COLE'S NEWSWIRE, which is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

To be removed from this list, send a blank e-mail message to: newswire-stop@colegroup.com. These missives are archived on the World-Wide Web at http://colegroup.com/NW/NW/.

To submit material for consideration, please deliver ASCII text electronically to news@colegroup.com.

ADSTAR.COM INC.
The Marina del Rey, Calif.-based supplier of remote classified ad entry software used by newspapers and advertisers has announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of stock.

The company, formerly known as Ad-Star Services Inc., said it intends to sell 1 million shares to the public at a price of between $14 and $16. The initial public offering is expected to be made in October; the managing underwriter for the offering will be Paulson Investment Co. Inc., of Portland, Ore.

AdStar is on the Web at http://www.adstar.com/.

DIGITAL CITY INC.
The Vienna, Va.-based division of America Online has announced a "strategic content agreement" with Knight Ridder Inc.'s regional newspapers that will provide local news and sports headlines, summary briefs and stories to select Digital City sites.

Content from Knight Ridder's DETROIT FREE PRESS, CHARLOTTE (N.C.) OBSERVER, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, CONTRA COSTA (Calif.) TIMES, KANSAS CITY STAR, AKRON (Ohio) BEACON JOURNAL, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS and ST. PAUL (Minn.) PIONEER PRESS will be carried on Digital City sites in the papers' corresponding markets. Knight Ridder will be the exclusive daily newspaper provider of news and sports content in Digital City Philadelphia, Twin Cities Minnesota and Detroit.

In addition, Knight Ridder will also contribute additional content from its Real Cities network.

The Digital City network is carried on multiple distribution platforms, including AOL, AOL.com, CompuServe, Netscape's Netcenter, MCI WorldCom Internet, The Weather Channel, Mapquest.com and on its own web site.

Digital City is on the Web at http://www.digitalcity.com/; Knight Ridder's Real Cities is at http://www.realcities.com/; Knight Ridder's corporate site is http://www.kri.com/.

GEAC PUBLISHING SYSTEMS
The Tampa, Fla.-based division of Geac Computer Corp. Ltd., of Markham, Ontario, Canada, has announced that it has acquired Matrix Publishing Systems Ltd. of Nottingham, U.K.

Matrix develops and markets newspaper business information systems, including modules that handle direct mail, single-copy sales, marketing and Internet. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Geac Publishing Systems provides newspaper business information systems under the VisionShift and Collier-Jackson brand names. Matrix's agent for sales in the Asia-Pacific region has been Cybergraphic Systems Ltd., which was acquired by Geac in June.

Geac said that it would "continue and expand" the Matrix operations in the United Kingdom.

Geac is on the Web at http://www.publishingsystems.geac.com/; Matrix is on the Web at http://www.matrix-pubs.co.uk/.

TC ADVERTISING
The Baltimore-based subsidiary of the publicly traded Big Flower Holdings Inc. has announced that it will acquire J.J. Grace Inc., a Van Nuys, Calif., company that does business under the name AdOut. TC Advertising said that AdOut would become a subsidiary. Terms were not discussed.

AdOut is the largest newspaper advertising production company in the United States and counts the LOS ANGELES TIMES and the LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS among its customers. Its AdOut Advanced Productivity Solutions AAPS division specializes in the development of productivity tools that assist newspapers in streamlining advertising production.

AAPS also has launched an advertising sales resources web site called TheSpecDept.com, designed to help newspapers create and expand display advertising.

TC Advertising was founded in 1967 as Treasure Chest Advertising in California. It was acquired in 1993 by Big Flower.

TC is on the Web at http://www.tcadvertising.com/. AdOut is at http://www.adout.com/.

UNISYS CORP.
The Blue Bell, Pa.-based information technology company has announced that it will acquire privately held Publishing Partners International (PPI) of Bedford, N.H. Terms were not released.

PPI, founded in 1991, provides newspapers advertising management software and services. It has more than 75 newspapers as clients, including USA TODAY, the BIRMINGHAM (Ala.) NEWS, Cleveland, Ohio's PLAIN DEALER and THE NEWS-SENTINEL of Knoxville, Tenn.

Unisys provides a broad array of information systems products and consulting and integration services. Within the last few years the company has focused on the publishing vertical market, with sales of its Hermes editorial system to the Philadelphia Newspapers, NEWSDAY of Long Island, N.Y., the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS and others.

Unisys is on the Web at http://www.unisys.com/ and PPI is at http://www.ppius.com/.

--30--

This special edition of COLE'S NEWSWIRE was written by David M. Cole and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS and NEWSINC., and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

Copyright (c) 1999, The Cole Group. All Rights Reserved. This transmission may not be copied, archived or retransmitted without the express written permission of The Cole Group. If you are not a subscriber to COLE'S NEWSWIRE, you have received this transmission illegally.

The Cole Group, P.O. Box 3426, Daly City, Calif. USA 94015-0426. V: (650) 994-2100; F: (650) 994-2108; I: info@colegroup.com.