A.H. Belo Sr Unsecured `BBB' Rtg on Fitch IBCA Alert Negative.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 1999--

A.H. Belo Corp.'s (Belo) 'BBB' senior unsecured rating is placed on RatingAlert Negative by Fitch IBCA following Belo's announcement of its intent to acquire the highly rated Phoenix, AZ television station KTVK and some related assets from MAC America Communications, Inc. for about $315 million in cash.

Belo concurrently announced an agreement to sell KASA-TV (FOX) in Albuquerque, NM, and KHNL- TV (NBC) in Honolulu, HI, along with its rights to operate KFVE-TV (UPN) in Honolulu under a local marketing agreement, to Raycom Media for $88 million in cash. Subject to the usual and customary regulatory approvals, the transactions are expected to close by the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter of 1999. Following completion of both transactions, Belo's leverage (defined as total debt divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) will slightly exceed the 3.9 times (x) ratio reported at FYE 1998.

Belo's `BBB' investment-grade rating has reflected the company's strong operating performance, along with its steadily declining debt and leverage levels. The rating has also considered the company's dominant position in the Dallas, TX, and Providence, RI, regions; diversified television station group; and the lack of scheduled debt maturities over the medium term. Fitch IBCA however has acknowledged Belo's sizable debt load of about $1.6 billion.

Since completing the acquisition of the Providence Journal Co. in 1997 though, Belo's leverage has remained consistently above the 2.5x-3.5x range that Fitch IBCA has targeted as appropriate for this rating category. While Belo does generate strong free cash flow, it has been redeployed in recent years to other strategic acquisitions and to share repurchases rather than to debt reduction. Absent any further acquisitions or share repurchases, Belo's leverage should once again be within that range by FYE 2000. Fitch IBCA will be reviewing with management its intentions with respect to managing its free cash flow in order to reduce leverage to within the 2.5x- 3.5x range. Fitch IBCA will also be reviewing Belo's anticipated operating performance in light of these announcements in order to determine the likely time frame for achieving those leverage targets.

Belo is one of the nation's largest media companies, diversified across the newspaper publishing, television broadcasting, cable programming, and electronic media businesses. The company owns The Dallas Morning News and The Providence Journal, in addition to several smaller newspapers. The company's group of 17 television stations reaches 13.6% of U.S. television households. In addition, the company manages four television stations through local marketing agreements and owns four cable news channels.