Business Week Online Wins National Magazine Award for General Excellence in New Media Category.

Business & Technology Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2000

Business Week Online was selected this week as the National Magazine Award winner for General Excellence in the New Media category. The prestigious annual magazine awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors.

"This is an important validation of our vision of online business and financial news," said Steve Shepard, editor-in-chief of Business Week, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). "In a fragmented world, glutted with specialized information and commodity news, there is more need, not less, for broad insights, synthesis, analysis, interpretation, context, and meaning - online and in print."

The "Ellie" award in the new media category recognizes an Internet site originating from an existing print publication "that most effectively serves its intended audience and reflects an outstanding level of interactivity, journalistic integrity and service," according to ASME.

Business Week Online has been nominated for General Excellence in the New Media category in three times in the four years since the award was created. This year, Business Week Online competed against Smart Money.com, the Industry Standard's TheStandard.com, Atlantic Unbound and Zoetrope: All-Story to capture its first "Ellie."

"Business Week Online is an example of how The McGraw-Hill Companies is using the Internet to extend franchises, add new customers and create new revenue streams," said Harold McGraw III, chairman and chief executive officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies. "This Web portal, with deep content for investors, entrepreneurs, small business owners and those engaged in e-commerce, is an important way to reach and develop entirely new audiences. For example, more than 70% of Business Week Online's 765,000 registered users do not receive the print magazine."

This year's National Magazine Awards program attracted a record number of print and new media entries: 1,483. Finalists were chosen by a panel of 175 editors, art directors, educators and new media experts. A separate panel of 81 judges chose the sixteen award winners.

Established in 1966, the National Magazine Awards is the preeminent program in the magazine industry to honor editorial excellence. The awards program is sponsored by the A.S.M.E. and are administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Business Week Online at www.businessweek.com provides readers with access to the magazine's U.S. and international editions, interactive dialogue with editors and reporters and weekly conferences. In addition, Business Week Online contains S&P Personal Wealth for investment guidance; Frontier, an online resource for entrepreneurs and small business owners; e-biz, providing electronic commerce news and information, plus career guidance and an extensive guide to business education. In the first quarter of 2000, page views increased 16% to over 18 million monthly. The number of registered users grew 23.4% during the quarter to 765,000.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider serving the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, Business Week and the McGraw-Hill educational imprint. The corporation has more than 400 offices in 32 countries. Sales in 1999 were $4 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.