The Weather Channel Shines During Second Year of ``Rays Awareness''; Sun Safety Campaign Goes on the Road to Educate Consumers Nationwide.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2002

The Weather Channel, the nation's leading provider of weather information, launches a second year of Rays Awareness, its national public education campaign, by taking sun safety education on the road.

The Weather Channel - in partnership with national affiliates - is lining up skin cancer screening events to help distribute informational materials and spread the word about the importance of sun safety. The initiative was launched last May to heighten public awareness about the dangers of overexposure to the sun, while enabling people to safely enjoy the outdoors.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), more than one million Americans will be diagnosed and nearly 10,000 people will die from skin cancer this year alone. The Weather Channel has partnered with the AAD to raise awareness about sun safety and the severity of skin cancer. As part of this alliance, dermatologists from the AAD will be present at sun safety events throughout the country this summer, to provide skin screenings and offer safety tips to consumers.

To kick off the 2002 Rays Awareness campaign, The Weather Channel network will:

- Integrate sun safety messages on-air: Informational story

packages will be broadcast during the three key times when

consumers are tuning in to make their summer holiday plans,

such as Memorial Day weekend, July 4th weekend and Labor Day 

weekend.

- Leverage knowledgeable spokespeople: Rays Awareness

spokespeople and on-camera meteorologists, Jennifer Lopez and

Paul Goodloe, will deliver sun safety tips to viewers. Doctors

from the American Academy of Dermatology will be on hand to

educate consumers.

- Enable people to learn more: This year, consumers can write to

The Weather Channel to request a free informational brochure

that includes sun safety tips and a UV indicator card.

- Offer personalized sun safety information on weather.com:

Consumers can access the Sun Safety Advisor (SSA), a

proprietary tool on weather.com, by visiting

www.weather.com/rays or the site's Health section. After

answering a few simple questions about themselves, including

their skin tone, location and specific outdoor activity,

consumers will receive a personalized SPF recommendation

(ranging from 15-50) and additional sun safety tips.

- Launch a national partnership with Sunglass Hut: Consumers can

learn more about protecting their eyes, as well as their skin,

from overexposure to the sun through a new Rays Awareness

marketing partnership with Sunglass Hut, which launches

Memorial Day weekend. When visiting any Sunglass Hut retail

store, consumers can pick up a free Rays Awareness sun safety

brochure, which will provide great tips to ensure a summer of

safe fun in the sun.

"We are honored that in its inaugural year, Rays Awareness received the Cable TV Public Affairs Association's esteemed Beacon Award for gaining widespread media coverage of our sun safety campaign, " said Bill Burke, president of The Weather Channel companies. "As the initiative continues to grow through grassroots efforts with our cable affiliates and other partners, we have additional opportunities to affect people's attitudes about sun safety. Our goal is for consumers to seek out early detection via the free skin screenings sponsored by The Weather Channel and our partners throughout the country."

Additionally, The Weather Channel is continuing its two-year partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to educate consumers about sun safety. On May 1, the CDC issued its national school policy guidelines for sun safety programs in schools. As part of the sun safety program, the CDC honored a Washington, D.C. area school that has successfully implemented sun safety policies. The Weather Channel will continue to spread the word about the CDC's new policies, leveraging the cable network's existing relationship with approximately 32,000 educators. The Weather Channel is also producing a sun safety curriculum guide and educational poster that will be available in May.

"We are pleased that Rays Awareness will have expanded reach in its second year," Burke said. "The Weather Channel is very committed to this public education campaign and in the future we are considering additional venues and partnerships to continue broadening the scope of this important initiative."

The Weather Channel is continuing to wage the fight against skin cancer with messages and information that will reach a potential audience in the tens of millions. The cable network itself reaches nearly 84 million households in the U.S. In addition, weather.com receives 14 million unique users per month.

Background

The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, reaches nearly 84 million U.S. households, and 9.2 million households in Latin America. Its Web site, weather.com, attracts over 350 million page views per month, and is consistently ranked among the top TV-related Web sites by Nielsen//NetRatings. TWC also operates The Weather Channel Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services, weather.com/espanol, weather.com/brasil and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and ITV applications, with wireless weather products accessible through high-speed Internet services, phones, pagers, Palm Pilots, and other personal digital assistants. The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a Norfolk, Virginia based, privately held media company.