BELLSOUTH, COX FINALIZE AGREEMENT; ANNOUNCE INITIAL PLANS

    ATLANTA, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- BellSouth Advertising & Publishing Company Inc. (BAPCO) and Cox Newspapers, Inc. said today they have completed their previously announced agreement to form a joint venture to develop and market a family of electronic information services of the type found in yellow pages directories and local newspaper classified advertising.
    As part of the agreement, BellSouth and Cox will have equal interests in the new partnership, which will be called InfoVentures of Atlanta, and will have equal representation on the venture's management committee.  The joint venture will have its own management team, which will operate and oversee all aspects of the business including sales, marketing, advertising and promotion, operations, billing and collection.
    InfoVentures will make its information services available to the public over the 511 telephone number, if the use of the number is approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.  Earlier this year, the commission assigned the 511 number to Cox to use in Atlanta on a trial basis for one year.
    Initially, all information will be accessible by touchtone phone in the Atlanta calling zone, and will be delivered via operator, facsimile or voice response.  Each call will cost 50 cents and will be charged to the caller's monthly phone bill.  Eventually, the services may also be accessed by personal computer, videotext, screenphone or other electronic delivery devices.
    The joint venture would continue the service currently being offered by The Atlanta Journal and Constitution through its 511 number.  It would be renamed "The Answer Machine(sm)," and it will allow callers to hear the latest in sports, stocks, weather, entertainment, soap opera updates and a variety of other topics, 24 hours a day.  The Personal Portfolio(sm) feature will allow callers to pre-select their topics so they can immediately access the information on these subjects when they call.
    In the spring of '94, InfoVentures expects to offer access to classified advertising and yellow pages information through its "Classifieds Now(sm)" and "Yellow Pages Now(sm)" services.  Classifieds Now will let callers search constantly updated classifieds quickly for automobiles, real estate and employment needs.  Yellow Pages Now, an operator-assisted service, will locate businesses and services in the Atlanta metro area that meet the callers' particular requirements. Yellow Pages Now will also offer direct connection to the selected business.
    "We're going to provide more detailed and comprehensive information, faster and easier than anything that is available today," said Michael Free, chief operating officer of InfoVentures.  "And our unique, customer-oriented service will make accessing the information a breeze."
    BAPCO, one of the largest publishers of telephone directories in the country, is a subsidiary of BellSouth (NYSE: BLS), an international telecommunications holding company.
    Cox Newspapers, Inc. is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., a major media company that includes 18 daily newspapers, 24 cable television systems and 19 radio and television stations in the U.S. Cox's Manheim Auctions is the world's largest operator of auto auctions with 50 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
    -0-                   10/25/93
    /CONTACT:  Tim Klein of BellSouth, 404-249-4135, or Jim McKnight of Cox Newspapers, 404-843-7936/
    (BLS)

CO: BellSouth Corporation; Cox Enterprises ST: Georgia IN: TLS SU: JVN 

BN-TK -- AT019 -- 6478 10/25/93 16:01 EDT