New Site Designs Earn Ottaway Newspapers Five Website Awards

Campbell Hall, NY – May 23, 2007 – Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. websites won five Suburban Newspapers of America awards including first place for Best Site Architecture and Overall Design. This success is attributed to a year long effort to redesign all Ottaway news websites with the latest technology and refocus revenue efforts to increase online advertising. The San Joaquin Media Group (www.recordnet.com) took first place in Best Website Architecture and Overall Design as well as second place in Best Overall Local News Website. The South Coast Media Group (www.southcoasttoday.com) won second place for Best Local Community Website. The Pocono Mountains Media Group (www.poconorecord.com) won third place for Best Local News Website and Best Advertising Initiative.

Suburban Newspapers of America represents and supports the suburban and community newspaper industry through leadership, education, promotion, research, and the advancement of high standards. SNA is the only non-profit, professional trade association specifically serving the suburban newspaper industry. SNA's membership is comprised of approximately 2,000 suburban newspapers published by the leading multi-newspaper publishing companies around North America.

SNA Awards:

Best Website Architecture and Overall Design, Class A
First Place
The Record (Stockton, CA) – www.recordnet.com
San Joaquin Media Group/Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.

Judge’s Comments: The main story preview is a very nice feature. The site is very well organized. It is very easy to navigate and the navigation keeps going deeper, not long down. It has a lot of content presented in a very pleasant way without clutter. The site has a big amount of content, everything from news, to user interaction to multimedia. I liked the very useful and easy to use top navigation. Each section keeps the original style, the site stays consistent and everything is perfectly organized within the individual sections. It’s a detailed and excellent work of information structure. I liked many of the features of the site. I liked that it makes use of many technological features but keeps a very clean look. I like the photo at the header, making reference to the area. It has a perfect balance of text, images, ads and content.

Best Overall Local News Website, Class A
Second Place
The Record (Stockton, CA) – www.recordnet.com
San Joaquin Media Group/Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.

Judge’s Comments: Nice-looking site, with the latest stories clearly marked. My favorite part, though, is the "Your Town" functionality, which enables users to drill down to more localized content ... with the latest stories, again, clearly marked. Being able to toggle over to "most clicked" is nice, too.

Best Local Community Website, Class A
Second Place
The Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA) – www.southcoasttoday.com
South Coast Media Group / Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.

Judge’s Comments: Nice home page. I like the rotating pictures showing, news, a feature and sports. Good features throughout.

Best Overall Local News Website, Class B
Third Place
Pocono Record – www.poconorecord.com
Pocono Mountains Media Group / Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.

Judge’s Comments: “The Basics” is a great resource. Email alerts is also smart. I liked that you set up a collection on the pet food recall. And you pay attention to the details, like being able to mouse over on the calendar and see each day’s events. Good use of information, such as blotter information and a traffic map. This site recognizes our need to perform important jobs for readers.

Best Advertising Initiative, All Classes Combined
Third Place
Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA) – www.poconorecord.com
Pocono Mountains Media Group/Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.

Judge’s Comments: From the variety of advertisers and graphics that accompany the online ads, it’s clear the Pocono Record staff accomplished its goals of expanding its revenue base. The ads are appealing and placed in strategic positions

For information, contact:

Karen Cooper
Internet Marketing Manager, Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.
kcooper@ottaway.com
845-294-4946

Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dowjones.com) is a leading provider of global business news and information services. Its Consumer Media Group publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Its Enterprise Media Group includes Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Dow Jones Licensing Services, Dow Jones Indexes and Dow Jones Financial Information Services. And its Local Media Group operates print and online community media franchises. Dow Jones provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.