Belo Offers Free Airtime to Candidates for Seventh Consecutive Election Cycle and Commits to 2008 Political Coverage

Belo Offers Free Airtime to Candidates for Seventh Consecutive Election Cycle and Commits to 2008 Political Coverage

DALLAS, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Belo Corp. (NYSE:BLC), which in 1996 became the first commercial television station group to provide free airtime for congressional and gubernatorial candidates, announced that it will offer the "It's Your Time" program for the seventh consecutive election cycle this fall.

The Company also announced election coverage plans, stating that Belo's news-producing stations will televise at least one hour of political coverage each week in the six weeks prior to the general election on November 4. The Company's election coverage in 2008 may include debates, issue- and ad-watch programming, and interviews with local, state and federal candidates. Debates and "It's Your Time" spots will be streamed and archived on Belo Web sites through Election Day. In 2006, Belo stations broadcast more than 150 hours of election coverage from mid-September through Election Day in November, including several congressional and gubernatorial debates.

Candidates participating in "It's Your Time" each receive five minutes of free airtime -- four minutes to tell viewers why they should be elected and one minute to answer a question specific to the candidate's individual race. In 2006, 146 qualified candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and state gubernatorial offices participated in "It's Your Time," receiving more than 13 hours of free airtime. Since the program's inception, Belo has provided free airtime to almost 700 candidates.

"Belo has a deep commitment to providing robust election coverage that helps create an informed electorate in the local communities we serve," said Dunia A. Shive, Belo's president and Chief Executive Officer. "Since Belo's introduction of this program, other broadcast companies have joined Belo's efforts and are also voluntarily providing free airtime in their respective markets."

Belo's coverage plans prior to the election include:

-- News-producing television stations in Belo markets will broadcast at
least one hour of issue- or candidate-centered election coverage per
week. This may include candidate interviews, live debates, and
issue- and ad-watch programming. Most stories will be locally
produced, with assistance from Belo's Capital Bureau in Washington,
D.C., and will cover federal, state and local races.
-- Belo Web sites will make the information readily available to voters
in each of Belo's markets. For example, candidate issue statements
and question-and-answer sessions will be posted through Election Day,
and e-town meetings will be hosted on several of Belo's Web sites,
allowing voters to express their opinions and gather information on
relevant local issues in an online setting. Belo Web sites also will
provide voter registration information and links to helpful
voting-related sites.
-- Belo's regional and local cable news channels will offer a variety of
programming, including one-on-one candidate interviews, single-issue
debates, and replays of "It's Your Time" segments and Belo election
coverage.

About Belo

Belo Corp. is one of the nation's largest pure-play publicly-traded television companies, with annual revenue of approximately $775 million. The Company owns and operates 20 television stations reaching more than 14 percent of U.S. television households, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV affiliates, and their associated Web sites, in 15 highly-attractive markets across the United States. Belo stations consistently deliver distinguished journalism for which they have received significant industry recognition including nine Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Awards; nine George Foster Peabody Awards; and 19 national Edward R. Murrow Awards -- all since 2000, and in each case more than any other commercial station group in the nation. Nearly all Belo stations rank first or second in their local market. Belo owns stations in seven of the top 25 markets in the nation, with six stations located in the fast-growing, top-14 markets of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Seattle/Tacoma and Phoenix. Additionally, the Company has leveraged its local television assets to create regional cable news channels in Texas and the Northwest increasing its impact in those regions. Additional information is available at http://www.belo.com/ or by contacting Paul Fry, vice president/Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, at 214-977-6835.

First Call Analyst: Carey P. Hendrickson
FCMN Contact: mmackey@belo.com

Source: Belo Corp.

CONTACT: Paul Fry, vice president, Investor Relations & Corporate
Communications of Belo Corp., +1-214-977-6835

Web site:

http://www.belo.com/

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