The Dallas Morning News Announces Expansion of Digital Initiatives

DALLAS, Jan. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dallas Morning News announced today several digital initiatives that will expand its portfolio of products and bolster its ability to deliver high-quality local content to diverse audiences and innovative solutions to advertisers. These initiatives will allow customers to access The News' content any time, any place and on multiple devices.

On January 18, 2011, The Dallas Morning News will launch a new iPad and an updated iPhone application. These applications will deliver incremental convenience, interactivity and value to readers, and new measurable solutions for advertisers. On that date, The News will also launch a new design and streamlined navigation for its flagship website, dallasnews.com.

"As we have been saying for some time, we're much more than a newspaper company; we're a news media company," said CEO and publisher Jim Moroney. "These digital initiatives will enhance our ability to publish important news and information for our customers on the platform of their choice. The relevant, local content generated by our newsroom, one of the largest among metropolitan newspapers in the country, remains at the core of how we serve our readers and advertisers."

On February 15, The Dallas Morning News will implement the next component of its premium pricing strategy and begin asking consumers to pay for online and mobile access to "Subscriber Content." Subscriber Content is proprietary news and information developed by The News' local news, sports and other journalists, which will be accessible only to paying print or digital subscribers. Headlines, blogs, obituaries, classifieds and non-proprietary content like syndicated wire stories will remain free.

Subscriber Content will be available to all readers during a free trial period, from January 18 through February 14.

Print subscribers of The Dallas Morning News will enjoy full access to digital and mobile platforms for the all-inclusive price of $33.95 per month. Other readers may subscribe to the digital and/or mobile package that best suits their needs. The comprehensive digital bundle, which includes the eEdition of The News and Subscriber Content on dallasnews.com, iPad and iPhone apps, will be available for $16.95 per month. Additional mobile platforms, such as Android and Blackberry, are in early stages of development and will launch later in the year.

"We are confident that we are opening a new avenue for growth by providing unique, relevant local content on the platforms readers want, and creating highly targeted opportunities for advertisers to reach consumers," said John McKeon, president and general manager.

The Dallas Morning News will communicate about its robust digital approach through a comprehensive marketing campaign that will launch with preview ads in January and run through June 2011. The campaign will reinforce the position of The Dallas Morning News as more than just a newspaper with both consumers and advertisers. The new integrated campaign, called "The Next Generation," will include newspaper, online, TV, social media, out-of-home and grassroots initiatives.

About The Dallas Morning News

Established in 1885, The Dallas Morning News (dallasnews.com) is Texas' leading newspaper. Its portfolio of print and online products reaches an average daily audience of more than 1.1 million. The newspaper has received nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986, as well as numerous other industry awards recognizing the quality of its investigative and feature journalism, design and photojournalism. In 2010, The News received the Pulitzer Prize for an editorial series highlighting the economic disparity between the northern half and southern half of Dallas. In 2003, the paper launched the leading Spanish-language daily in North Texas, Al Dia; the standard-setting free entertainment tabloid, Quick; and the nation's first editorial blog. In 2008, the paper launched the free, home-delivered quick-read, Briefing. The Dallas Morning News is the flagship newspaper subsidiary of A. H. Belo Corporation.

About A. H. Belo Corporation

A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a distinguished newspaper publishing and local news and information company that owns and operates four daily newspapers and a diverse group of websites.  A. H. Belo publishes The Dallas Morning News, Texas' leading newspaper and winner of nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986; The Providence Journal, the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the U.S. and winner of four Pulitzer Prizes; The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), serving southern California's Inland Empire region and winner of one Pulitzer Prize; and the Denton Record-Chronicle.  The Company publishes various specialty publications targeting niche audiences, and its partnerships and/or investments include the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium and Classified Ventures, owner of cars.com.  A. H. Belo also owns direct mail and commercial printing businesses.  Additional information is available at www.ahbelo.com.

Statements in this communication concerning A. H. Belo Corporation's (the "Company's") or its subsidiaries' business outlook or future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, dividends, capital expenditures, investments, impairments, pension plan contributions, real estate sales, future financings, and other financial and non-financial items that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as the term is defined under applicable federal securities laws.  Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements.

Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, changes in capital market conditions and prospects, and other factors such as changes in advertising demand and newsprint prices; newspaper circulation trends and other circulation matters, including changes in readership methods, patterns and demography, and audits and related actions by the Audit Bureau of Circulations; challenges in achieving expense reduction goals, and on schedule, and the resulting potential effects on operations; technological changes; development of Internet commerce; industry cycles; changes in pricing or other actions by competitors and suppliers; regulatory, tax and legal changes; adoption of new accounting standards or changes in existing accounting standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other accounting standard-setting bodies or authorities; the effects of Company acquisitions, dispositions, co-owned ventures, and investments; pension plan matters; general economic conditions and changes in interest rates; significant armed conflict; and other factors beyond our control, as well as other risks described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, and other public disclosures and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE The Dallas Morning News