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<PAGE>
To Shareholders
of Knight-Ridder, Inc. March 27, 1995
On March 24, 1995, the Board of Directors of Knight-Ridder, acting on
the recommendation of Chairman of the Board James K. Batten, elected
President P. Anthony Ridder to succeed Mr. Batten as Chief Executive
Officer.
Mr. Batten will continue as Chairman of the Board and, as set forth in
the Company's proxy statement dated March 24, 1995, is a nominee for re-
election to the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting on May 5, 1995. A
copy of the Company's press release announcing Mr. Ridder's election as CEO
is enclosed.
Board of Directors
of Knight-Ridder, Inc.
Enclosure
<PAGE>
MIAMI, March 24, 1995 -- The Board of Directors of Knight-Ridder,
Inc., acting on the recommendation of Chairman of the Board James K.
Batten, today elected President P. Anthony Ridder to succeed Mr. Batten as
chief executive officer. Mr. Batten will continue as chairman.
In a statement issued after Friday's quarterly board meeting, Batten,
59, said, "I am continuing chemotherapy and other treatment following my
operation last year for removal of a malignant brain tumor. I continue to
hope that in due time that treatment will bring me back to full physical
and professional strength. However, I have reluctantly concluded that the
degree of recovery needed to handle my current job at the level required by
the company in this time of substantial change is not in prospect soon
enough for me to conscientiously continue further in Knight-Ridder's top
leadership position."
Batten continued, "Tony Ridder emerges squarely in the tradition of
Knight-Ridder leaders, and I am immensely proud of him. He is deeply versed
in the details of our business and deeply committed to the fundamental
importance of editorial quality for Knight-Ridder's successful economic
future. He is acutely aware of the obligations of the press in a free
society -- to provide the free flow of honest, illuminating information
that allows it to function successfully. And finally, Tony has a genuine
appetite for understanding and, where appropriate, adopting new ways of
delivering news and information. For a communications industry executive on
the brink of the 21st century, that quality is vital. I am eager to play as
significant a role in the management of our company as I can. And I'm
looking forward to helping Tony as he assumes his new responsibilities."
Ridder, 54, becomes CEO immediately. He said, "It is an extraordinary
honor to be asked to lead Knight-Ridder, and it is humbling to be following
in the footsteps of Jim Batten. He is one of the most visionary leaders in
American journalism today, and he is a primary architect of the forward-
looking, customer-conscious company that Knight-Ridder is. Jim and I have
been close partners for the last seven years, and we will be close partners
for many years to come."
"Our mission is special: We are both a journalistic enterprise and a
business. That we have succeeded at both so well for so long is, to a large
degree, a testament to the leadership that has blessed us -- Lee Hills,
Alvah Chapman and Jim Batten. I am proud to be their successor. I look
forward to protecting and enhancing the shareholder values that they have
built. Nothing is more critical to our success in future years; nothing
will do more to assure the sustained independence and quality of Knight-
Ridder journalism."
Tony Ridder became president of Knight-Ridder in 1989. He came to the
Knight-Ridder corporate staff as president/Newspaper Division in 1986 after
serving for nine years as publisher of the San Jose Mercury News. He had
joined the Mercury News in 1964 and was general manager prior to becoming
publisher.
Ridder serves on the board of the Seattle Times Company and Newspapers
First. He is chairman of the Postal Committee and member of the Board
Committee on Public Policy for the Newspaper Association of America. He is
a member of the Florida Council of 100, the advisory board of the Center
for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University and the president's
advisory board of the University of Michigan. He is a member of the boards
of the Florida International University Foundation and of the United Way of
Dade County.
He was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1962 with a B.A.
in economics. He and his wife, Connie, who is a lawyer, have three
daughters and a son.
Knight-Ridder is an international communications company engaged in
newspaper publishing, business news and information services, electronic
retrieval services, news, graphics and photo services, cable television and
newsprint manufacturing. The company publishes 29 daily newspapers in the
United States. Around the world, news, information and advertising from
Knight-Ridder reach more than 100 million people in more than 135
countries. The company's stock is listed on exchanges in New York, Tokyo
and Frankfurt.
# # # # #
For more information, call Knight-Ridder Vice President/Corporate Relations
Polk Laffoon, 305-376-3838 or Director of Corporate Communications Lee Ann
Schlatter at 305-376-3839.
