IDG Australia Launches The Industry Standard; The Industry Standard Australia Builds Upon Success of Web Property

Business Wire, June 13, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2000

International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading provider of IT media and information services, announced today the launch of The Industry Standard Australia publication. The magazine debuts as the only bi-weekly business magazine focusing on the Internet's impact on Australian business; the first issue focuses on the implications of the stock market decline on Australian dot.com companies. The new publication brings the total number of titles published by IDG in Australia to six, and comes on the heels of the successful launch of the Industry Standard Australia website (www.thestandard.com.au) earlier in March.

Launched by IDG in April 1998, The Industry Standard continues to achieve unprecedented ad page growth. Year-to-date, page growth in the U.S. has increased 557 percent over the first four months of 2000 compared to the same period in 1999. Recently named in Ad Age's annual Best Magazine issue as the "Best Launch", The Industry Standard quickly became a must-read for the Internet business strategist. Over the past two years, The Industry Standard has gained more than twice the market share of its nearest competitor -- expanding its offerings to include a Web site, 18 weekly email newsletters, international conference program, the Intelligence Store of research reports, recruiting tools and e-business directories.

"We believe the Australian Industry Standard magazine and Australian website thestandard.com.au has the potential to be as popular as its US sister company. The Australian Internet Economy is growing at a rapid pace and we believe there is a real need for the Standards' type of in-depth news and editorial coverage of this sector," said Don Kennedy, Managing Director, IDG Communications Australia.

"The Internet Economy is a global economy and we're delighted to be making one of our first international debuts in Australia. With Australian Internet usage exploding and e-commerce expected to exceed $1 billion in 2002, Industry Standard Australia will provide the Internet business strategists down under with the intelligence they need on the Internet Economy," said John Battelle, President and CEO, The Standard Communications, Inc., U.S.A.

The Australian version of the Industry Standard will mirror the US edition; Posts, The Fortnight, Intellectual Capital, Metrics, Special Reports and Features will be some of the columns and sections featured in the publication, as well as content from the web site. The Standard's seasoned editorial team will be lead by Editor Ian Yates; a veteran IT journalist who has written for various IDG Australia publications such as Network World, Australian Reseller News and Computerworld. Joining Mr. Yates as vice president will be Barry Sanders. The circulation for the Industry Standard Australia is currently 9,500 and major advertisers include IBM, Looksmart, Red Sherrif, Engage Technologies, Sun, Macquarie Bank and Deutsche Bank.

About The Standard:

Headquartered in San Francisco and located on the Web at www.thestandard.com, The Standard is the essential source for intelligence on the Internet Economy. Through The Industry Standard, its weekly newsmagazine; TheStandard.com, its daily news outlet and business intelligence portal; its conferences and events; and its online newsletter, research, recruiting and marketing-making offerings, The Standard provides a new breed of business leaders with the information and resources they need to succeed in the Internet Economy. The Standard has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and London, and is owned by Industry Standard Communications Inc., which is majority-owned by International Data Group (IDG).

About International Data Group

Headquartered in Boston, International Data Group (IDG) informs more people worldwide about information technology than any other company in the world. With annual revenues of $2.56 billion, IDG is the leading global provider of IT media, research, conferences and expositions. IDG publishes more than 300 computer newspapers and magazines and 4,000 book titles in 80 countries, led by the Computerworld/InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PC World, CIO, Industry Standard and For Dummies(R) global product lines. IDG offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net (http://www.idg.net), which comprises more than 270 targeted Web sites in 70 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions in 35 countries, and research arm IDC provides computer industry research and analysis through 51 offices in 43 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.