Customer-Driven Web Site At the Denver Post Headlines MediaNews Group's Adoption of Vignette Applications.

Business Editors & High-Tech/Entertainment Writers

AUSTIN, Texas, & DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2001

Vignette Provides a Strategic Foundation for Personalizing

The Online Customer Experience at More Than 49 Newspapers

Throughout a Dozen States

Vignette Corp. (Nasdaq:VIGN), the leading provider of customer-driven Internet applications, today announced that MediaNews Group Inc., the nation's seventh-largest newspaper firm, has chosen Vignette(R) applications to power the Web sites of all its affiliate publications, including The Denver Post.

The respected daily newspaper's new Web site, http://www.denverpost.com/, now brings the paper's online users a richer and more relevant Web experience with Vignette Internet applications.

The move to Vignette was led by MediaNews Group Interactive (MNGi), which maintains 74 Web sites for the company's daily newspapers and an umbrella site, http://www.newschoice.com/. MNGi selected Vignette as the architectural foundation on which to build and deliver an effective Internet business channel across more than 70 member publications, based on its ability to provide a single, end-to-end result.

"Vignette offered us enterprise scalability and a complete suite of content, integration and analysis applications in one package," said Eric Grilly, vice president of Interactive Media at MediaNews Group. "The fast and successful deployment of Vignette's industry-leading publishing system will allow each of our newspapers to benefit from a set of core features and automated processes that reduce the cost and time it takes to create and maintain our sites.

"We expect to gain measurable returns as this interactive project is extended throughout the MediaNews Group publishing community. For MNGi, this means creating a relevant Web experience that is personalized to the individual and coordinating all facets of getting to know that subscriber across all publishing touch-points, including interactive, print, subscription services and special promotions."

Headquartered in Denver, MediaNews Group publishes 49 daily newspapers and 94 nondaily publications in 12 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

"A company growing as quickly as MediaNews Group understands the competitive benefits of having a scalable and adaptable e-business application," said Thomas E. Hogan, president and chief operating officer of Vignette. "With Vignette as a corporate standard, each newspaper can take advantage of core features and automated processes to reduce the cost and time of producing and operating Web sites."

Other reasons cited by MediaNews Group for choosing Vignette include the ability to repurpose content in tune with its e-business initiative, the product suite's openness to both Microsoft COM and Java technologies, especially J2EE(tm) compliant technologies, and fast time-to-market.

The Vignette applications showcased at The Denver Post was up and running in seven weeks, due largely to the efforts of Denver-based Saillant Consulting Group, the Vignette Solution Provider that designed and implemented the application. The first phase of the deployment, completed in mid-March, included the Vignette(R) Content Management Server and the Vignette(R) Lifecycle Personalization Server. Phase 2, now under way, will integrate the Vignette(R) Multi-Channel Communication Server as well.

Using Vignette applications, individual Web sites serving MediaNews Group's affiliates will be tailored to reflect a variety of personalized environments, including newspaper-specific "look and feel," localized content and dynamic features that capitalize on the immediacy of the Internet. Vignette applications will further personalize the customer experience by coordinating all aspects of reaching subscribers across publishing touch-points, including interactive, print, subscription services and special promotions.

About Vignette

Vignette Corp. (Nasdaq:VIGN) is the leading provider of customer-driven Internet applications used by the most demanding and successful organizations in the world. Vignette's products allow businesses to create and extend relationships with prospects and customers, and to facilitate high-volume transaction exchanges with suppliers and partners, all of which enhances customer satisfaction. Vignette powers more than 1,250 leading e-businesses. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vignette has offices located throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and in Australia, and can be found on the Web at http://www.vignette.com/.

About MediaNews Group

MediaNews Group is the nation's seventh-largest newspaper company, with headquarters in Denver. MediaNews Group publishes 49 daily newspapers and 94 nondaily publications in 12 states with daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 2.1 million and 2.2 million, respectively. MediaNews Group maintains 74 Web sites for its daily newspapers and an umbrella site, http://newschoice.com/.

In addition, MediaNews Group owns a CBS affiliate and a radio station in Anchorage, Alaska, and four radio stations in Texas.

Forward-Looking Statements 

The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements including statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding future success by MediaNews Group in its use of Vignette software, sales, market growth and competition. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Actual results could differ materially from the Company's current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, future losses, limited operating history, fluctuation of quarterly revenues and operating results, competition, dependence on a small number of large orders, lengthy sales cycle and product implementation, acquisition integration, market awareness of our product, rapid changes in e-relationships technology and new products, and other factors and risks discussed in the Company's 10K, as amended and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and any reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Vignette is a registered trademark of Vignette Corp.

J2EE is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.

All other names are the trademarks of their respective companies.