America Online Adds Media Veterans to Programming Team.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2003

 Expands Programming Ranks with Malcolm Bird as Senior Vice President
     and General Manager, AOL Kids and Tina Sharkey as Senior Vice
            President, Lifestyle and Community Programming

 Reflects AOL's Increased Commitment to the Development of World Class
                    Online Content for AOL Members

America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced that it has strengthened its content and services team with the appointment of veteran media executives to manage key areas of the AOL service. The Company today named industry leaders Malcolm Bird as Senior Vice President and General Manager, AOL Kids, and Tina Sharkey as Senior Vice President, Lifestyle and Community Programming. Mr. Bird and Ms. Sharkey will report to Jim Bankoff, Executive Vice President, Operations, AOL Interactive Services.

The new executives will play a vital role in meeting AOL's commitment to providing its members with unique, valuable programming that is relevant to their daily lives. They will lead programming areas that are among the most popular and integral parts of the AOL online experience.

Mr. Bird will utilize his expertise in children's media programming, production and development to make AOL Kids Only a more compelling destination for children. He will lead the development of an all-new online experience for kids, tailored to their interests and activities, and leverage his skills and experience in the area of content creation. The Kids Only Channel on AOL has consistently been among the most popular areas on the service since its launch in 1989, providing kid-friendly features and content to AOL households.

Ms. Sharkey will head AOL's leading Lifestyles and Community efforts, focusing on everyday solutions for online consumers in areas including personal finance, health, women and home. She will also be tasked with the development of strategic programming based on AOL's unmatched community of more than 35 million members, including the polls, homepages, message boards, groups and chats that engage AOL members throughout the service.

Jim Bankoff, Executive Vice President, Operations, AOL Interactive Services, said: "Enhancing the content, features and services we provide to our members is one of AOL's top priorities. Malcolm Bird and Tina Sharkey bring tremendous talents and experience to a number of the areas AOL members care about most. Together with our existing team of world class professionals, they will bring a new dimension to the AOL experience."

Malcolm Bird, Senior Vice President and General Manager, AOL Kids, said: "AOL has been a pioneer in developing an online experience that is educational, fun and, most importantly, safe for kids. The Kids Only area on AOL has been among the service's most popular and a leader in offering content and features targeted for the Internet's younger users. I'm looking forward to working with the talented AOL Kids Only team to enhance these offerings and create an even more compelling experience for kids."

Tina Sharkey, Senior Vice President, Lifestyle and Community Programming, said: "My entire career has been spent building platforms and products that connect people to their passions. I am extremely excited to lead AOL's community and lifestyle programming efforts at such an important phase in the company's history."

Malcolm Bird is an Emmy(R) award-winning children's media expert with more than 15 years of experience as a TV and radio producer and a programmer of children's content. Mr. Bird played key roles in three major network launches -- Nickelodeon UK, TeleMonticarlo in Italy and Miami USA network for Barry Diller's USA Broadcasting. Most recently he was a producer of the hit series Operation Junkyard for Discovery Kids. He was an Executive Vice President for Production and Development for Craftsman Productions and worked on a variety of hit series, including "It's My Life" for USA Broadcasting among many other projects.

Prior to his work with Craftsman Productions, Mr. Bird was Executive Producer and Head of Kids Programming for Miami USA Broadcasting, where he produced 20 hours of live programming per week for the network's most popular show, "Wami on Miami," which won two Emmy awards. He also served as Creative Director/Director of International Programming and Production for Cartoon Network Productions. Prior to that, Mr. Bird was Head of International Programming for Hanna-Barbera/Turner Entertainment, responsible for TV production in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America, and was credited with producing the network's first real-time animated talk show using Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat. He has also worked as a producer for Nickelodeon UK and the BBC.

Tina Sharkey brings 15 years of consumer-driven media expertise to AOL. Most recently she was a Principal at Majestic Partners, a Media and Technology consulting firm in New York, where her clients included the New York Times Digital and Cisneros Television Group. Prior to her work with Majestic Partners, Ms. Sharkey was Group President of Sesame Workshop's Online Services, where she created the award-winning Sesame Street interactive media business, from 1997-1999.

Ms. Sharkey was also a co-founder of iVillage, and served as its SVP of Programming and Chief Community Architect. Prior to that, she collaborated with Barry Diller on a new home shopping channel, Q2, a division of QVC for which she served as Vice President of Marketing and Programming. Ms. Sharkey also spent three years at Frankfurt Balkind where she managed corporate brand strategies for Time Warner, QVC and Sony, and helped launch the Adobe Acrobat and New York 1 brands. She is involved with a number of charities and educational causes; a member of the Dean's Council at the University of Pennsylvania; founding board member of Baby Buggy and a Judge for the Smithsonian Institution's New Media Innovation awards.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.

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