WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Sept. 30, 1999 - James B. Shaffer, a veteran media-industry executive and Internet pioneer, was named today to lead Clickshare Service Corp., developer of the Clickshare i-commerce operating platform.

"Clickshare's vision is to import to i-commerce the value-added interrelationships that have long existed in traditional retail," said Shaffer. "We have innovative technology and are seeking additional partners to help us apply it."

Shaffer, 54, was elected a director and becomes chief executive officer of Clickshare, leading Clickshare's evolving team of distinguished executives, engineers and academics. He succeeds company co-founder Bill Densmore, who continues as president under Shaffer.

Clickshare is an i-commerce operating platform for Internet payment aggregation, audience measurement, site-access control, personalization and privacy-protected demographics. Clickshare's platform enables single-bill, multi-site payments for digital content and commerce with relationship management and privacy-enhancing features.

"Clickshare offers enormous opportunities to publishers, multimedia content owners, telcos, ISPs and financial institutions for pricing and packaging of digital goods," said Densmore. "Jim's background on the financial side of the print and broadcast industries ensures Clickshare will be tuned to the needs of our partners, above all else."

Until August, Shaffer was chief executive of Guy Gannett Communications, Inc., of Portland, Maine, a diversified media holding company with television, newspaper, direct marketing and Internet operations in seven states. Shaffer recently oversaw sale of the family-owned company.

Shaffer has been among leaders of newspaper industry trade group efforts to adapt the industry to the Internet marketplace. This included serving as chairman of a future-watching subcommittee of the Newspaper Association of America. In 1995, Guy Gannett was one of the first newspaper groups to develop a set of comprehensive, statewide Web-based information resources. Its sites have won industry awards for innovation in content and design. Shaffer also lead Guy Gannett's investment in KOZ, Inc., a Durham, N.C.-based provider of Internet services to local organizations and communities.

Earlier, Shaffer was executive vice president of the Chicago Sun-Times Co., chief financial officer of the Los Angeles Times and an executive in various roles with Cowles Communications Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn. He holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University and an undergraduate engineering degree from Purdue University.

"From the beginning Clickshare's mission has been to facilitate the sharing of users and content among publishers, ISPs, telephone companies, banks and multimedia content owners without getting in the middle of their customer relationships," said Densmore. "Our investors are delighted that Jim has agreed to advance this vision in the marketplace and with other stakeholders. Jim is a person of enormous energy and integrity who is widely known and respected in his field. It's a tribute to his entrepreneurship that among the opportunities available to him he has chosen to focus on Clickshare."

Shaffer joins a board that includes Stephen C. Mott, the former VP-electronic commerce for MasterCard International. Last week Mott was named one of the top executives of WebHouse Club the "name-your-own-price" Internet-based grocery-buying service.

Clickshare has alliances with Red Hat Software Inc., COMTEX Scientific Corp. and Tristar Technologies (Proprietary) Ltd. of South Africa. Clickshare is testing the sale of information provided by The Associated Press, PR Newswire, Business Wire, Xinhua, Itar-Tass, M2 Communications, U.S. Newswire, The Sports Network and others via the Pubshare.com web site. Clickshare is also testing delivery and payment for digital course packs with text excerpts provided by publishers including Congressional Quarterly Press, West Publishing Co. and Johns Hopkins University Press.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ed Bride, 1-413-442-7718
Bride@clickshare.com