Annemarie Iverson Tapped for Top Editorial Position At Primedia's Teen Titles; Becomes Editor-in-Chief At Seventeen.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2001

Primedia To Maximize Editorial Synergies Among Teen Titles;

Focuses On Extending Leadership and Dominance

In Teen and 'Tween' Magazine Market

PRIMEDIA Inc. (NYSE:PRM), the world's leading targeted media company, announced today that Annemarie Iverson, 37, has been named Editor-In-Chief of Seventeen and Editorial Director of Primedia's Teen Magazine Publishing Unit.

This unit includes Teen Magazine and its Youth Entertainment Group (YEG) titles, Bop Magazine, Tiger Beat, Teen Beat and 16 Magazine. Ms. Iverson replaces Patrice Adcroft, who was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen.

In this newly created position, Ms. Iverson will be have overall editorial responsibility across Primedia's teen titles and will partner with Linda Platzner, the recently named president and Group Publisher of the Primedia Magazines Teen Sales and Marketing unit to strengthen Primedia's leading position in the teen market. The editorial changes are part of Primedia's continuing focus on integration in the wake of Primedia's recent completion of the acquisition of emap usa (formerly known as Petersen Publishing) from EMAP plc and the addition of the Teen Magazine title.

John Loughlin, president and CEO of Primedia Consumer Media and Magazine Group, commented, "Primedia is focused on extending its leadership in the teen market and further building our teen magazine brands through integration and the development of new and innovative editorial content. Annemarie is a proven publishing executive, has tremendous vision, great relationships, and has demonstrated an ability to develop and execute creative ideas, which have impacted and driven readers and advertisers to the teen category. She will be a tremendous asset to our team, helping to guide the next phase of growth at our teen and youth titles." Ms. Iverson joins Primedia from Gruner + Jahr's YM, where she was the Editor-In-Chief and was responsible for leading the magazine's emergence and growth in the teen category. Under her leadership, YM achieved the number one position for newsstand sales in the teen category, above both Teen People and Seventeen, which historically is and continues to be the leader in terms of advertising revenues and pages.

She is highly regarded in the media industry for her beauty, fashion and fitness background and for developing innovative editorial ideas including YM Beauty. Ms. Iverson also brings significant Internet experience have led the re-launch of ym.com.

Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Iverson has co-authored a book with makeup maven Bobbi Brown, Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty, which was on The New York Times best seller list for 12 weeks in the summer of 2000. She has a long history of success in beauty and fashion editorial coverage. Prior to joining YM, she was the Beauty and Fashion News Director at Harper's Bazaar from 1993 to 1999; the Beauty and Fitness Editor at Seventeen from 1987 to 1990; a General Editor, Beauty/Fitness Editor at Women's Day from 1986 to 1987; and a writer/reporter, then Fashion Editor at Fairchild Publications from 1984 to 1986.

She is a summa cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University and holds a Masters' degree in journalism from New York University. The announcement of Ms. Iverson's appointment follows on the recent announcement of the creation of the Primedia Magazines Teen Sales and Marketing unit within its Broad Reach Magazine Group, which is focused on leveraging the advertising and marketing opportunities at its combined teen assets.

About PRIMEDIA

PRIMEDIA is the new tradition in media. With 2000 sales of $1.7 billion from a unique combination of traditional and new media properties, it is the leading provider of targeted content and integrated marketing solutions in both the consumer and business-to-business sectors. The Company is the #1 special interest magazine publisher in the U.S., with more than 300 titles such as Seventeen, New York, Teen, Motor Trend, Fly Fisherman, American Baby, Telephony, American Demographics; the #1 producer and distributor of specialty video with 18 satellite and digital video product lines, including Channel One Network; and the #1 news and information group on the Internet, with over 1,000 special interest web sites led by About.com. PRIMEDIA's stock symbol is: NYSE: PRM. More information about the Company can be found at www.PRIMEDIA.com.

This release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning PRIMEDIA's operations, economic performance and financial condition. These statements are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, and reflect future business decisions, which are subject to change. Some of these assumptions may not materialize, and unanticipated events will occur which can affect the Company's results.