ST. PETE WEEKLY ; NEW YORK METROPOLIS PARTNER TO PUBLISH IRONMINDS.COM

Alternative newspapers partner to reposition popular web content portal ironminds.com

St. Pete Weekly Newspapers
P.O. Box 2989
St. Petersburg, FL 33731-2989
727-502-0559
info@stpeteweekly.com

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Dean Capone
deancapone@stpeteweekly.com
Trevor Aaronson
trevor@stpeteweekly.com

ST. PETE WEEKLY ; NEW YORK METROPOLIS PARTNER TO PUBLISH IRONMINDS.COM

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 10, 2002 -- St. Pete Weekly Newspapers announced today that it has reached an agreement to operate the Web portal Ironminds.com under a joint agreement with New York Metropolis, a weekly alternative newspaper distributed throughout New York City's outer boroughs.

St. Pete Weekly Newspapers, publisher of alternative newspaper St. Pete Weekly, will handle Ironminds.com's day-to-day operations and move the Web site from a diarist-style online magazine to a portal and syndicate for alternative journalism.

The joint venture agreement includes an option for St. Pete Weekly to acquire ironminds.com.

The acquisition of Ironminds.com will help St. Pete Weekly extend the publication's market presence, said Publisher Dean Capone. "Ironminds.com is one of the most valuable brands in online content," said Capone. "Although its influence waned in the dot-com fallout, I think St. Pete Weekly and New York Metropolis can revitalize Ironminds.com, and in doing so help smaller alternative weeklies find quality news and features content."

St. Pete Weekly Managing Editor Trevor Aaronson, will also serve as editor of Ironminds.com. "We'll build on Ironminds.com's strong reputation for quality editorial content to build a cooperative of alternative newsweeklies," Aaronson said. "Ironminds.com will syndicate reportage, columns and arts criticism among its participating newspapers. Additionally, I would like to see Ironminds.com become a consumer showcase for great alternative journalism."

Aaronson wants Ironminds.com to help independently owned alternative newsweeklies share content and pool editorial resources, allowing them to compete with dailies and such alt-weekly chains as NT Media (formerly New Times), Village Voice Media and Creative Loafing.

Andy Wang founded Ironminds.com in 1999, building a University of Missouri journalism project into a well-read online magazine.

With groundbreaking content that included an exclusive interview with O.J. Simpson, Ironminds garnered a significant readership audience and substantial coverage in the print and online press.

As publisher of New York Metropolis, an Ironminds.com member newspaper, Mr. Wang will continue to play a role in the Web site.

About St. Pete Weekly Newspapers, Inc.
Founded in October 2000, St. Pete Weekly Newspapers publishes St. Pete Weekly, an alternative newspaper distributed throughout St. Petersburg and surrounding communities in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The company also operates Ironminds.com and stpeteweekly.com.