AdStar and Tribune Company Enter Strategic Alliance

Posted on March 22, 2002

AdStar, an application service provider for the classified advertising industry, announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance that includes approximately $1.8 million in funding from Tribune Company, for a new series of preferred stock convertible into 1,443,457 shares of common stock. Through this strategic alliance, Adstar will provide Web-based recruitment ad sales technology to all major market Tribune newspapers, including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Newsday.

�We are excited that Tribune has recognized the strength of our business and technology,� said Leslie Bernhard, president of AdStar. �Our shareholders should be happy to know that one of the largest and most well-known media companies has strengthened its support of AdStar. We look forward to our ongoing relationship and Tribune�s support as we continue to grow and develop our ad-transaction technology.�

Tribune ad agency and employer customers will be able to create, schedule and purchase print ads to run in the CareerBuilder-branded print help wanted sections, as well as place these ads on the CareerBuilder website. Included in that product offering will be tools to reach both white collar and blue-collar job seekers. In partnership with Tribune and Knight Ridder, CareerBuilder provides job seekers exposure to more than 300,000 jobs.

�Tribune�s investment demonstrates its commitment to Adstar's technology. We expect the platform to be highly scaleable - from both an economic and technological perspective,� said Tim Landon, president of Tribune Classified Services. �An integrated print and online approach makes strategic, economic and operational sense for newspapers of all sizes and, because of this, we are pursuing newspapers of all sizes to become affiliates of the CareerBuilder Network. We think both large and small newspapers will see that we have a model that is a �win � win� for both the local newspaper and CareerBuilder.�