ZIFF-DAVIS ANNOUNCES PROMOTION OF DAN FARBER TO VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ZD NET

NEW YORK, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ziff-Davis Interactive Media and Development Group today announced the promotion of Dan Farber from Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of PC Week to Vice President and Editor- in-Chief of ZD Net.

This is just one of a series of eight announcements made by Ziff- Davis today. The company announced the promotion or appointment of a total of 17 key executives. The scope of these management changes reflects the growth and expansion of Ziff-Davis across a broad front. The company's established magazines are growing, both in circulation and in share of ad pages. Ziff-Davis is expanding its online services and investing in Internet-related companies. The company is also preparing to launch new magazines and a daily, primetime television program.

Jeff Ballowe, President of Interactive Media and Development, said, "The Internet is an enormous part of the future for Ziff-Davis as both a topic to publish about and as a platform to publish on. It's with great pleasure that I welcome Dan, who is one of the company's most successful and experienced executives, to a leadership role in helping us create this future."

Farber has been a computer journalist since 1981 and was the founding editor of IDG's Macworld before joining Ziff-Davis as editor- in-chief of MacWeek. In 1992, he became Editor-in-Chief of PC Week and oversaw the launches of PC Week/Inside, PC Week Netweek, PC Week Executive, and the World Wide Web edition of PC Week Online.

In his new position, Farber will be responsible for working with Ziff-Davis publication editors and ZD Net's staff of editors, designers, and technology experts to further integrate the company's wealth of computing information into the ultimate source for information about computing and the Internet on the Web, America Online, CompuServe, and the Microsoft Network. Farber will also be responsible for adding value to Ziff-Davis' online content by developing complementary content and innovative interactive features, such as ZD Net's personalized news service, online events, a 10,000-title software library, and the most comprehensive Web-based directory of computing product and company information.

The award-winning ZD Net brand of online services is the most visited source of computing news, buying information, and services on the World Wide Web (http://www.zdnet.com) and all the leading commercial online services. Each month, the advertiser-supported ZD Net Web site logs access by almost a million unique Internet domains, a number that increases 25 to 35 percent monthly. Nearly 300,000 members subscribe to ZD Net editions through commercial online services, making ZD Net the fifth-largest commercial online service.

Ziff-Davis, a Softbank company, is the leading publisher of computer magazines and online computing content. With the upcoming debut of its daily, primetime TV show on MSNBC, Ziff-Davis will also become the leading producer of television programming about the digital revolution. As a result, Ziff-Davis is rapidly becoming the leading provider of an integrated system of print, broadcast, and electronic media that reaches all the audiences interested in content about computing and the Internet.

    -0-                          5/2/96

/CONTACT: Greg Jarboe of Ziff-Davis, 617-225-3500 or [e-mail]/

CO: Ziff-Davis Interactive Media and Development Group ST: New York, Massachusetts IN: CPR PUB SU: PER

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