Belo Affirms Commitment to New Orleans Market and Provides Insight Into Financial Implications of Hurricane Katrina

Belo Affirms Commitment to New Orleans Market and Provides Insight Into Financial Implications of Hurricane Katrina

DALLAS, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Belo Corp. (NYSE:BLC) said today that it is assessing the operational and financial impact of Hurricane Katrina on its market-leading New Orleans television station, WWL-TV, and on the Company as a whole. Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and chief executive officer, and Jack Sander, president/media operations, visited WWL's temporary broadcast studio and operation center in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, and reassured WWL's leaders and employees that Belo is committed to supporting WWL and the City of New Orleans as the aftermath of Katrina unfolds. WWL is the only Belo operating company located in the Katrina storm path.

Decherd sent a letter to all Belo employees today describing the general impact of Katrina on WWL and the Company, and praising the exemplary performance of the WWL team which has broadcast without interruption throughout the hurricane and continuously ever since from various makeshift locations. A copy of Decherd's letter is attached to this press release. WWL has played a critical role both as a news organization and as the most reliable and effective means of conveying news, information and relief services to residents of southern Louisiana who remain in the area, particularly those who are now beginning to return to their homes in parishes that sustained comparatively minor damage. WWL resumed limited broadcast activities at its main studios in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Thursday, but will maintain its operations center in Baton Rouge for the foreseeable future.

Decherd said, "To the fullest extent possible, WWL will play a leading role in the rebuilding of New Orleans as that process evolves in the months and years ahead. No undertaking of this magnitude has ever been accomplished in the United States without the active participation and leadership of the press, and we are determined to meet our obligations as a journalistic organization and as a corporate citizen."

In fulfilling these journalistic and community obligations, the Company currently anticipates that WWL's operating expenses will remain at the pre-Katrina level of approximately $22 million per annum for the next 12 to 15 months. Decherd said that it is not presently possible to estimate how long it will take for the market to stabilize and for predictable revenue patterns to be defined. The Company encourages analysts and investors to take a conservative approach toward the recovery of the New Orleans advertising market. As a point of reference, WWL's revenues for the year ended December 31, 2004 were approximately $35 million, which represented 2.3 percent of Belo's consolidated revenues. The Company believes that WWL's longtime news leadership position in New Orleans, and its singular performance over the past fortnight, constitute a valuable competitive advantage that will contribute significantly to the station's ability to rebuild its advertising base as the New Orleans market recovers.

Decherd noted that WWL is incurring incremental costs as it continues to cover Hurricane Katrina, as are most other Belo operating companies. Incremental costs associated with covering this news event by Belo operating companies other than WWL are not projected to continue beyond the end of September. However, ongoing costs for maintaining an operations center for WWL in Baton Rouge will continue until WWL can resume full operations at its New Orleans facility. Decherd noted that the Company will manage controllable expenses to the extent possible to minimize the impact of incremental Katrina expenses on Belo's total operating costs.

The Company is working to evaluate the condition of its French Quarter facility. However, the extent of operations located there will depend on many factors beyond the Company's control. As for the new facility planned for WWL, Decherd said the Company remains committed to this project, but has postponed it indefinitely while a design and engineering review of the new building is conducted in light of what has occurred with Katrina. The Company has accelerated other non-WWL capital projects into 2005 to maintain and smooth out the previously-announced $120 million per annum capital expenditure estimate Company-wide for 2005 through 2009.

Belo has insurance coverage, including business interruption insurance, which is expected to mitigate near-term financial impacts of Katrina on the Company. In addition, the Company will assess the carrying value of WWL assets as a result of the impact of Hurricane Katrina. The timing of any potential impairment charge will depend on when the Company is able to reasonably estimate the impact of this event on WWL's future revenue.

Decherd added, "Until we are able to quantify the impact of these matters, we are withdrawing the Company's previous third quarter revenue and expense guidance as well as our full-year guidance for earnings per share. When the various financial impacts are estimable, we will provide appropriate quarterly and full-year guidance. We'll also provide the financial community with regular updates on the financial model being developed for WWL's ongoing operation."

About Belo

Belo Corp. is one of the nation's largest media companies with a diversified group of market-leading television, newspaper, cable and interactive media assets. A Fortune 1000 company with 7,600 employees and $1.5 billion in annual revenues, Belo operates in some of America's most dynamic markets in Texas, the Northwest, the Southwest, Rhode Island, and the Mid-Atlantic. Belo owns 19 television stations, six of which are in the 15 largest U.S. broadcast markets. The Company also owns or operates seven cable news channels and manages one television station through a local marketing agreement. Belo's daily newspapers are The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal, The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA) and the Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, TX). The Company also publishes specialty publications targeting young adults, affluent populations and the fast-growing Hispanic market, including Quick and al dia in Dallas/Fort Worth, and the d, El D and La Prensa in Riverside. Belo operates more than 30 Web sites associated with its operating companies. Additional information is available at http://www.belo.com/ or by contacting Carey Hendrickson, vice president/Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, at 214-977-6626.

Statements in communication concerning Belo's business outlook or future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, capital expenditures, investments, future financings or other financial and non-financial items that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as the term is defined under applicable federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements.

Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, changes in capital market conditions and prospects, and other factors such as changes in advertising demand, interest rates and newsprint prices; newspaper circulation matters, including changes in readership, and audits and related actions (including the censure of The Dallas Morning News) by the Audit Bureau of Circulations; technological changes, including the transition to digital television and the development of new systems to distribute television and other audio-visual content; development of Internet commerce; industry cycles; changes in pricing or other actions by competitors and suppliers; regulatory changes; adoption of new accounting standards or changes in existing accounting standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other accounting standard-setting bodies or authorities; the effects of Company acquisitions and dispositions; the effects of Hurricane Katrina; general economic conditions; and significant armed conflict, as well as other risks detailed in Belo's other public disclosures, and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") including the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

September 9, 2005

Dear Fellow Employees:

First and foremost, thanks to each one of you who has helped Belo and WWL-TV begin to recover from the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina, while producing and distributing some of the most distinguished journalism in the Company's history. The tireless work, focus and selflessness of Belo employees, and especially our colleagues at WWL in New Orleans, have been inspiring. The generosity so many of you have demonstrated in financial assistance and other acts of personal giving are reminders of how special this Company is. Thankfully, all WWL employees are accounted for and are safe.

Jack Sander and I spent Wednesday in Baton Rouge with the WWL team. We reassured them that Belo will stay the course, no matter how long or how difficult. I told our team that Belo will maintain WWL's operating expenses at the pre-Katrina level for the next 12-15 months while New Orleans' future is clarified. Belo and WWL will be leaders in the rebuilding of New Orleans, and it will take all of us as a Company to help in this arduous task. A press release outlining Belo's commitment was issued today and is posted on the Intranet and at http://www.belo.com/ .

What occurred in Louisiana and Mississippi last week is a genuine calamity. I am incredibly proud of the leadership of WWL and those employees of the station who rallied to remain on the air without interruption and have literally become the voice of New Orleans in the face of this crisis. Only one other television station in the New Orleans DMA is presently broadcasting from its primary transmission facility, and it is airing WWL's feed. It is unclear when other stations will be able to transmit from their primary transmission facilities. Studios have been evacuated, at least one transmitter was underwater, and we believe that one broadcast tower is on the ground.

Bud Brown, who recently moved to New Orleans from Spokane to become president and general manager of WWL, and Sandy Breland, the station's news director and a WWL career employee, have led their team throughout the storm and its aftermath -- relocating from our North Rampart Street studios to the transmitter site, back to New Orleans then to LSU in Baton Rouge, and now originating WWL from the PBS station in Baton Rouge, WLPB-TV. Partial broadcast capability was restored at WWL's main studios on North Rampart Street late yesterday, but WWL's operations center will remain in Baton Rouge for the foreseeable future.

Bud, Sandy and their team have endured difficult conditions and often have been in extremely dangerous situations, as have journalists and support personnel from other Belo companies covering Katrina. Many WWL employees lost their homes and have seen friends perish, but they've continued to work around the clock. More than any other media organization, WWL has become the conduit for news and information to the public and, to the degree possible, is serving as a vehicle for the public to ascertain the whereabouts of families and friends as well as disaster relief services.

The problem, of course, is that without power or cable television service and with so many people displaced from their homes, we don't know who is able to receive WWL's signal on a "normal" basis. We have been streaming WWL's signal on the Internet, most recently in cooperation with Yahoo!. On Sunday, August 28, wwltv.com had 2.1 million page views, 187,000 unique users and 140,000 video users. On Tuesday, August 30, page views exceeded 10 million, there were 560,000 unique users, and 250,000 unique video users viewed 1.3 million video streams. As power is restored in the New Orleans DMA, over-the-air, cable, and satellite reception will increase, with Internet traffic abating from last Tuesday's peak.

While the WWL team has stayed on the front lines from a journalistic standpoint, the Belo organization has pulled off a logistics feat. Jack Sander began organizing this effort on the Friday prior to Katrina and has worked continuously with the corporate team to deploy more than three dozen journalists, technicians, engineers, and other personnel from around the country to support WWL. This included redeploying satellite trucks from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and St. Louis to the Gulf Coast, and assigning WFAA-TV, KHOU-TV and KENS-TV helicopters to provide aerial coverage. The complex task of provisioning vehicles, fuel, equipment, sleeping bags, food and supplies has been handled out of Dallas and Baton Rouge. This will go on indefinitely.

At this moment, we are working hard to stabilize WWL's operations in Louisiana and begin to sort out how and where we will operate for the next six to twelve months. I have appointed Guy Kerr to lead and coordinate corporate activities that need to be addressed, ranging from insurance issues to personnel and employee assistance, to accounting and legal matters. Jack will remain deeply involved in the operating issues related to WWL's recovery, and he has assigned Rick Keilty, our group head who oversees WWL along with other television stations, to be the point person from this time forward. Marian Spitzberg and other members of the Management Committee have been heavily involved in WWL-related activities for the past two weeks and will work with Guy to determine which members of the Belo corporate staff need to be assigned on an interim full-time basis to these efforts. We will rely on third-party expertise as much as possible, since it is critically important that everyone at Belo unaffected by Katrina's devastation remain focused on the Company's overall operations and his or her own operating unit's performance through the end of 2005 and into next year.

Even more so than 9/11, Katrina will directly impact our Company and require a united effort to shore up WWL while continuing to achieve superior journalistic and financial performance across the remainder of Belo. It is up to each and every one of us to advance these dual objectives. Our success in this regard will require foregoing some activities and deferring some priority projects. I encourage everyone to bring forward ideas as to how your operating company can meet its journalistic objectives while preserving financial resources until there's more clarity about the full financial impact of Hurricane Katrina.

Ironically, we conducted a groundbreaking for a new WWL-TV facility in New Orleans just six weeks ago and we remain committed to this project. However, given current circumstances, there is no scenario under which construction can begin in 2005. We are also undertaking a design and engineering review of the new building in light of what has occurred with Katrina. The site of the new facility is about three blocks from the Superdome, which means that last week's experience at the new facility site can provide us a reference point to prepare for future storms. We will build a facility befitting the stature and quality of WWL-TV as soon as it is practical to proceed.

Many of you have asked about ways you can help our friends and colleagues at WWL. As with the broader relief efforts, cash is the single most important gift anyone can make at this point. I am attaching a description of our internal relief efforts and Belo's relief initiatives on a broader basis. If you wish to make a contribution to our employees, please follow the instructions on the enclosed page from the Belo Intranet site.

In simplest terms, it will be many months before the New Orleans television market has a chance of returning to its pre-Katrina audience or revenues levels. Belo will be a major part of that rebuilding process. In these tragic circumstances for so many of our fellow citizens, WWL is proving again how extraordinarily valuable great local journalism is to our democracy and why our Company has invested in this idea for more than 160 years.

Moreover, the journalistic efforts of other Belo companies over the past ten days have been unsurpassed. Reporters, photographers, editors and support personnel at every level of The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal, WFAA-TV, KHOU-TV, KING-TV, KTVK, KMOV-TV, KGW-TV, WCNC-TV, KENS-TV, WVEC-TV, WHAS-TV, KVUE-TV, KREM-TV, KTVB, NorthWest Cable News and Texas Cable News, as well as the Capital Bureau and corporate, have joined to inform our readers, viewers and online users in ways that few media companies can ever hope to achieve. Men and women from across Belo have endured their own hardships and personal risk to provide these reports and support WWL. The collective result demonstrates in powerful ways Belo's principles and purposes. In WWL's honor and to keep us aware in Dallas of our country's stake in the renaissance of New Orleans, we are draping the TXCN building with the American flag today -- as we did after 9/11. I thank each and every one of you who have been a part of the effort to support WWL thus far, and, on behalf of every fellow employee, send our gratitude to you.

August 31, 2005

How you can help your Belo team members at WWL-TV

Belo Corp. and The Belo Foundation have established the WWL-TV Employee Relief Fund for employees of WWL-TV and NewsWatch on Channel 15 who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. Belo Corp. will seed the fund with $200,000 and make an immediate distribution of $1,000 to each full or part-time employee at WWL-TV and NewsWatch on Channel 15.

Robert Decherd, Belo's chairman, president and CEO, said, "We are all deeply concerned about our fellow employees in New Orleans who have been so severely affected by Hurricane Katrina. Supporting this relief effort will help our colleagues begin the long road to recovery following the hurricane's devastating impact on their lives, families and homes. We are also extremely proud of the WWL team for their dedication to serving their community during this crisis. Despite the extreme hardships, WWL-TV has continuously broadcast some of the finest disaster news coverage in the history of television journalism."

Employees at other Belo operations and at corporate, as well as vendors, business partners and the general public, are invited to make contributions to the relief fund. Belo Corp. will match dollar-for-dollar all donations made to the fund by employees of Belo companies. Donations are tax-deductible. Cash or check donations made out to the WWL-TV Employee Relief Fund may be made in person at The Belo Foundation, located in Suite 200 of The Belo Building in Dallas, and checks may also be mailed in care of The Belo Foundation at P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265-5237. Details of a payroll deduction option will be announced soon.

One hundred percent of all donations will go directly from the relief fund each month to WWL-TV and NewsWatch on Channel 15 employees. Funds will be allocated to employees in an inverse relationship to their current compensation levels; those in lower compensated positions will receive larger distributions than those at higher compensation levels. The Belo Foundation will administer the relief fund, and distributions will be made to employees through the Belo Payroll Department. Employees at WWL-TV and NewsWatch on Channel 15 should contact Belo Benefits at 1-866-235-6236 or benefits@belo.com to provide updated contact information.

In addition, Belo Corp. is making a $100,000 donation in honor of the employees of WWL-TV and NewsWatch on Channel 15 to a non-profit organization with targeted hurricane relief efforts in New Orleans and Louisiana. Community-wide relief efforts for the Gulf Coast region are also being coordinated by several of the Company's newspapers and television stations, including The Spirit of Texas Hurricane Relief Fund, The Dallas Morning News, WFAA-TV in Dallas, KHOU-TV in Houston, KTVK in Phoenix, KMOV-TV in St. Louis, KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon, WCNC-TV in Charlotte, KVUE-TV in Austin and KREM-TV in Spokane.

For additional information or questions about the WWL-TV Employee Relief Fund, please contact Amy Meadows, vice president and executive director of The Belo Foundation, at 214-977-6661 or ameadows@belo.com . Additional information about other hurricane relief efforts by Belo's newspapers and television stations is available on Belo's Intranet and at http://www.belo.com/ .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saturday, September 3, 2005 2:00 P.M. CDT

WWL-TV Continues Broadcasting to Serve Struggling Communities, Overcomes Major

Challenges Following Hurricane Katrina

Market-Leading Station Is the Only Local New Orleans Station to Remain on Air

Continuously Throughout Hurricane and Its Aftermath

Belo Stations and Newspapers Nationwide Provide News Reporting Support, Raise

More Than $10 Million to Date in Fundraising Relief Drives

DALLAS -- WWL-TV, the market-leading CBS affiliate in New Orleans owned by Belo Corp. (NYSE:BLC), has remained on the air "live" since Hurricane Katrina's arrival and disastrous aftermath, the only New Orleans television station to do so. WWL's news, production and technical teams have overcome tremendous logistical, communications and personal challenges to serve their communities during this crisis. Professionals from Belo's television and newspaper media companies across the nation have stepped in to support their colleagues' extraordinary efforts.

Robert W. Decherd, Belo's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "The entire Belo organization is extraordinarily proud of the WWL team for overcoming tremendous obstacles to broadcast continuously what is arguably some of the finest disaster news coverage in the history of television journalism. They have demonstrated the highest possible commitment to their communities and profession, setting aside personal needs to provide people in New Orleans, the Gulf Coast region and the world with ongoing updates about what is happening, how those in need can get help, and what others can do to support the mammoth relief efforts underway following one of our nation's worst natural disasters.

"Journalists at Belo television stations and newspapers across the nation have supported this Herculean effort by contributing news crews, broadcasting equipment, supplies and logistical support. We also greatly appreciate the professional assistance being provided by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and its Baton Rouge affiliate, WLPB-TV, and Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, which has allowed WWL to broadcast from their facilities.

"In addition, every one of Belo's 24 other media companies is leading community fundraising drives that have already raised more than $10 million to support hurricane relief efforts by the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other organizations."

WWL Broadcasts Benefit From Unprecedented Cooperation

WWL has been able to broadcast locally without interruption due to advance arrangements made with LSU's Manship School of Mass Communication to use its facilities in Baton Rouge. When WWL's own facilities on Rampart Street in the French Quarter had to be evacuated, WWL personnel continued the station's live coverage using the LSU facilities as well as WWL's emergency broadcast facility at its transmitter site in Gretna, Louisiana. WWL shifted its broadcasts to the WLPB studios on Wednesday, August 31.

Additionally, WWL's signal is being carried statewide in Louisiana and Mississippi through a network of digital channels, on all public television stations in Louisiana, and on several cable channels in local communities in Louisiana. Several Louisiana radio stations are also broadcasting the audio portion of WWL-TV's signal. Other Belo stations, including WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth, KHOU-TV in Houston and KVUE-TV in Austin, are also carrying WWL's live coverage. Echostar, a satellite television provider, is making WWL's signal available to evacuation centers in Texas.

Belo is also offering WWL's signal to all broadcasters in non-Belo markets for broadcast on their digital multicast channels. Stations in Chicago; Boston and Springfield/Holyoke, Massachusetts; Syracuse and Albany, New York; Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut; Birmingham, Alabama; and Panama City, Florida are among those providing WWL's hurricane response coverage through this service.

WWL-TV's Web Site Usage Surges, Partnership with Yahoo.com Extends Reach

WWL has been video streaming its hurricane coverage on the station's Web site, http://www.wwltv.com/ , in an effort to reach those directly impacted as well as others concerned about the affected communities. The Web site has experienced a tremendous surge in usage since Hurricane Katrina hit, with more than 10.2 million page views, 562,000-plus unique users and 1.3 million total online sessions to its live video streaming broadcasts on its peak day, Tuesday, August 30. This represents more than 35 times the average number of daily page views and more than 22 times the average number of unique video users during the first two weeks of August.

In addition, WWL finalized arrangements to provide hurricane-related Web links and video streaming coverage for Yahoo!.com's site on Hurricane Katrina: http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/hurricanes_and_tropical_storms .

The wwltv.com site includes live video streaming news coverage from WWL-TV's broadcasts, the latest photos and news coverage, phone numbers for government and charitable relief agencies, community and employee blogs, and county-by-county news and weather links.

Belo Media Companies Nationwide Raise More Than $10 Million to Date for Hurricane Relief Efforts

Belo's television stations and newspapers in 17 major markets nationwide have raised more than $10 million to date to support hurricane relief efforts in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. Ongoing fundraising campaigns include telethons, drive-thru donation sites at local television stations, partnerships with a major league baseball team and national grocery store chains, and special events.

WWL-TV Employee Relief Fund Established

To assist its employees at WWL and NewsWatch on Channel 15 who have been severely impacted personally by Hurricane Katrina, Belo Corp. and The Belo Foundation have established the WWL-TV Employee Relief Fund. Belo Corp. has committed $200,000 to the fund initially and will also match dollar-for-dollar the contributions of employees at Belo companies. The general public and business partners are also invited to make contributions to the relief fund. Donations are tax-deductible. Cash or check donations made out to the WWL-TV Employee Relief Fund may be made in person at The Belo Foundation, located in Suite 200 of The Belo Building in Dallas, and checks may also be mailed in care of The Belo Foundation at P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265-5237, with questions answered at 214-977-6661.

Yesterday, the Relief Fund made an initial tax-free distribution of $1,000 to every WWL employee to meet his or her immediate needs.

The Company is also making a $100,000 donation to a major non-profit organization with targeted relief efforts in New Orleans and Louisiana in honor of WWL's employees. Members of the Company's Board of Directors will join together to match this donation.

August 31, 2005

WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News Organize Local "Spirit of Texas Hurricane Relief Fund" for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News have organized a community relief fund with Chase and Bank One to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. The dollars collected will be distributed to victims in all states affected by the severe weather through the American Red Cross. Belo Corp. news organizations throughout Texas will participate in this program that will facilitate donations to benefit victims and families affected by one of America's most devastating storms.

A special account has been established to accept donations. Anyone wishing to help should go by any of the 350 Chase or Bank One locations in Texas to make a contribution. Checks should be made payable to the "Spirit of Texas Hurricane Relief Fund," with Hurricane Katrina Relief 2005 in the memo line. The 2200 Chase and Bank One branches outside of Texas also will be accepting cash and checks for hurricane relief. To find the nearest Chase or Bank One branch, go to http://www.chase.com/ and click on "Find Us."

"We want to make it as easy as possible for Texans to help their neighbors in the South begin the long recovery from this disaster," said Alice Rodriguez, head of retail banking for Chase in Texas. "They simply need to stop by any Chase or Bank One branch across Texas."

"The significance of the hurricane and severe weather will be felt for a long time to come in the southeast and other regions of the country," said Kathy Clements, WFAA President and General Manager. "We are pleased that we could mobilize quickly with Chase and Bank One, our radio partner WBAP News/Talk 820 and others to reach out, spread the word and lend a helping hand to Americans in need."

In addition to WFAA, The Dallas Morning News and WBAP, Belo television stations throughout Texas are also participating in this relief effort, including KHOU (Houston), KENS (San Antonio) and KVUE (Austin).

"WFAA and The Dallas Morning News, as well as other Belo companies facilitated numerous community contributions in the wake of September 11, 2001," said Jim Moroney, Publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News. "We are pleased to be working with Chase again in the same capacity."

All donations will be sent to the American Red Cross, which reports they will be distributed to aid victims in all states directly affected by the hurricane.

August 31, 2005

To all WWL-TV employees:

We are attempting to reach all WWL employees so that we can know where everyone is and do our best to communicate as much helpful information as possible. If you know of a way to reach others, please give us their contact information and forward this information to them.

Our main concern is determining how to keep in contact with you. You are not expected to report to work at this time. However, if possible, please contact your manager by e-mail or phone to let them know where you are. Your manager will advise you as to current and short-term work assignments. Also, use the contact information below to let the Belo HR team keep track of you for further communications.

It is impossible for your fellow employees across Belo to fully express our concern for you and your families at this time. This message is the beginning of an effort to do what we can to provide resources to help you in this time of need. To do that effectively, we need to establish the best way to stay in communication with you. Please let us know:

* Where you are, * How you can best be reached by phone, e-mail or text message, * Special needs or concerns you may have, * Any messages we can relay to loved ones in other locations

Please contact Belo Benefits by e-mail benefits@belo.com or call (866) 235-6236 with this information.

We'll do our best to answer your questions and meet your immediate needs. We have established an online site for WWL employees to communicate, share concerns, ask questions or just keep up to date. Go to http://blog.wwltv.com/ .

Your next ordinary pay date is Friday, Sept. 9. If you are currently paid by direct deposit, your pay will be deposited in the same manner as in the past. If you are paid by check, please contact us and let us know where to send your paycheck. If you are in the Baton Rouge area, we can send your paycheck to the station's temporary location at KLPB, the local Public Broadcasting Station in Baton Rouge.

For future information regarding pay and operations issues, please continue to monitor this site that has been set up for maintaining communications with all of our WWL employees.

In case you're not aware, WWL is broadcasting from the transmitter and facilities have been set-up at the PBS station, KLPB, in Baton Rouge to produce and broadcast news coverage. Except for a few hours on Monday and Tuesday night, WWL has provided continuous coverage of Katrina -- something no other New Orleans station has been able to achieve.

WWL is #1 for a reason -- its people. We can't express enough our appreciation for what you do and, most importantly, our concern for each of you and your family at this time.

Please stay in touch and call, e-mail or text message the information requested above. Also, please give us information on other employees you may know of.

We'll do what we can to help. Our thoughts are with you.

September 1, 2005

The Dallas Morning News -- Editorials

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

Gulf Coast's disaster will test all of us

Living in the most materially advanced civilization in history, we Americans forget how fragile civilization is and the tragic nature of the human condition. This week, nature reminded us.

Our mastery of capital markets and high technology availed us little against the brute force of Hurricane Katrina. Now, masses of people are without adequate food, water, clothing and shelter, have no electricity and are as poor and destitute as anyone on earth. As Sri Lankan tsunami victim Nimal Premasiri said of the American hurricane victims, "God has made us equals in birth, life and death."

Civilization has been compared to skin stretched over a skull -- that is, the thin veneer under which the ever-present savage dwells. We have seen the truth of that observation borne out in horrifying tales of looters, some of them armed -- and some of them police officers -- running rampant in flooded New Orleans.

To paraphrase Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the line between civilization and barbarism runs through every human heart. And even as the mob raged on the streets outside, heroic doctors and nurses worked -- and are still working -- in the heat and darkness of New Orleans hospitals to save patients. Hunters and fishermen organized a bateau and bass-boat flotilla and sailed into the flooded areas to rescue survivors. Despite the harrowing circumstances, these good men and women have not forgotten who they are.

And what about the rest of us? Who are we? What is our duty to our neighbor? Texas Gov. Rick Perry admirably declared this state's willingness to do what it can for refugees, saying, "We're all in this together." There is nothing as true and as necessary to say at this point.

In recent years, sociologist Robert Putnam has noted with alarm the fraying of the social fabric as our wealth made us more individually self-sufficient. Now, the hurricane has jerked us back to elemental reality, and this catastrophe will test the American character as nothing else -- not even 9-11 -- has in modern U.S. history.

Civilization is not buildings, highways and cities, but what we carry in our heads and hearts. And, in the end, all we have is each other.

Relief funds, beds, fresh water -- and hope

It takes government to fix levees, rescue the stranded, airlift the infirm and deliver ready-to-eat meals to the hungry.

It takes the touch of everyday people to deliver the message, "We care and want to help."

An unfathomable number of refugees from Hurricane Katrina's destruction are saying, in despair, that they have lost everything.

That's only true if they have lost hope, too. People with compassion can restore that hope by joining in the nation's building message of support. Doors are swinging open for those driven from their shattered or submerged homes -- from Reunion Arena to the Astrodome to the uncountable homes where families are sleeping on couches or bedroom floors.

Schools across Texas are trying to comfort dazed, displaced children with the vital message, "Hurricane victims welcome here." Universities, such as the University of Texas at Dallas, are cutting red tape to accept college students whose campuses in New Orleans are under water indefinitely.

Experts say what's needed most is money. The American Red Cross, where most fund-raising efforts direct donations, will use it to supply food, water and shelter to those uprooted by the catastrophe. (A relief fund set up by The Dallas Morning News and WFAA-TV sends money to the Red Cross. Contributions can be made to the "Spirit of Texas Hurricane Relief Fund" at all Chase and Bank One locations.)

Other established organizations, such as Catholic Charities USA, are accepting donations as well.

And there are things volunteers are doing to pitch in, like those who gathered to feed storm victims at Dallas' Concord Church last night and an effort in downtown Garland on Saturday to collect water, nonperishables and toiletries.

Hurricane victims will not have their lives intact anytime soon. But this untold number of humanitarian efforts will help restore something even more precious -- the faith needed to do what probably seems like an impossible task.

Find a list of resources for giving and getting help in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and get updates on the aftermath by visiting http://www.dallasnews.com/extra .

Source: Belo Corp.

CONTACT: Carey Hendrickson, vice president-Investor Relations & Corporate Communications of Belo Corp., +1-214-977-6626

Web site: http://www.belo.com/ http://www.wwltv.com/ http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/hurricanes_and_tropical_storms http://blog.wwltv.com/ http://www.chase.com/ http://www.dallasnews.com/extra

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