Knight Ridder New Media Introduces Regional Information Hubs

Posted on September 17, 1999

Knight Ridder New Media has announced a national network of regional hubs on the Web. Four of these hubs, operating under the brand name Real Cities, debut today. They are BayArea.com, Miami.com, Broward.com, and TwinCities.com.

Real Cities regional market and information hubs include local Web directories, search, community publishing, e-commerce marketplaces, free email, 24-hour national and local news, and one-time registration service for use of all Real Cities products and online services. Knight Ridder's online newspapers are also integrated into the network information hubs.

"These hubs are only the beginning of our evolution," said Dan Finnigan, president, Knight Ridder New Media. "Our goal is to develop the most comprehensive network of localized information available on the Web. We intend to become the 'go local' button on the Web. We're working aggressively to build out these market centers across the U.S. We provide consumers easy-to-use features and functionality that enables them to explore their communities as never before. Users can find information fast - and interact with it. What we're building is in-depth, one-stop local resources with high-level navigation tools."

Finnigan added that in order to build out the network, Real Cities leaders are in active partnership talks with local media companies, newspaper and broadcast, in non-Knight Ridder markets. Finnigan cited recently created partnerships with Belo and Central Newspapers as examples of the expansion he seeks. Among the next set of Real Cities hubs to roll out are Phoenix.com and Indianapolis.com.