Transcontinental’s Newspapers Go Digital With Newspaperdirect
Subscribers To Have Real Time Access To New Smartedition Newspapers

Montreal and Vancouver, September 16, 2008 – Transcontinental Media, one of Canada’s leading publishers of community newspapers, announced today that it is working with NewspaperDirect to migrate its newspapers to digital editions as part of its ongoing online strategy and the company’s commitment to implement technology that makes life easier for its customers.

Twelve Transcontinental publications have been released as full-featured digital editions, including The Journal-Pioneer, The Western Star, The Guardian, La Nouvelle Union and The Telegram, with plans to roll out the remaining titles over the next few months.

“We researched a number of the available digital edition solutions in the market and NewspaperDirect’s technology demonstrated that it was most leading edge and fitting for our needs,” said Marc-Noël Ouellette, Senior Vice President, Newspaper Group, Transcontinental Media. “As part of Transcontinental’s online strategy, partnering with this niche-based company was very inline with our growth objectives.”

With over 170 papers across Canada, including a dozen dailies, Transcontinental reaches, on average, three million readers a week, making it a leading source of information and news in both English and French-speaking communities. This innovative new product addition will give readers an interactive and user-friendly way to enjoy their papers while still maintaining that newspaper look and feel.

“Transcontinental has always been a model company in terms of its respect for the environment,” said Alexander Kroogman, CEO, NewspaperDirect. “We are proud to work with them in the migration of their newspapers to digital, which will not only serve the long-term interests of its readers; it will open opportunities for new revenue streams for the company and its advertising partners.”

The new editions can be accessed from any web browser and will give subscribers instant access to a digital replica of the full printed editions of the newspapers, (on PCs, Macs, smartphones, iPhones, and Blackberry and iPod Touch devices), often before they hit the newsstands. For advertisers, it means that their print ads will also be online and will give them the ability to have more options to enhance and make their advertisements more interactive for readers.

Advanced digital features enabled by SmartEdition technology include: easy-to-use navigation tools, powerful keyword searching, media monitoring with email notification, article sharing, a one-click ‘add to my blog’ feature, instant translation in up to 12 languages, integrated audio, back-issue access, photo galleries, social media integration and NewspaperDirect’s proprietary reader commenting and community features.

About Transcontinental
The largest printer in Canada and sixth-largest in North America, Transcontinental is also the country’s leading publisher of consumer magazines and French-language educational resources, and its second-largest community newspaper publisher. Transcontinental distinguishes itself by creating strategic partnerships that integrate the company into its customers’ value chain, notably through its unique newspaper printing outsourcing model and its value-added services. From mass to highly personalized marketing, the company offers its clients integrated solutions which include a continent-leading direct marketing offering, a diverse digital platform and a door-to-door advertising material distribution network. Transcontinental is a company whose values, including respect, innovation and integrity, are central to its operation.

Transcontinental (TSX: TCL.A, TCL.B) has more than 15,000 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico, and reported revenues of C$2.3 billion in 2007. For more information about the Corporation, please visit www.transcontinental.com.

About NewspaperDirect Inc.
Founded in 1999 and based in Vancouver, Canada, NewspaperDirect Inc. (www.newspaperdirect.com) is the world leader in multi-channel newspaper and magazine content distribution and monetization.

NewspaperDirect’s SmartEdition e-paper solution, powered by PressDisplay technology, fits every publisher’s needs with zero investment and zero operational cost. With SmartEdition, a publisher’s subscribers benefit from anywhere/anytime access to current and back issues of their publications, while enjoying premium digital features such as voice, translation, article sharing through email or their blogs, social network integration, picture galleries, advanced search, media monitoring and commenting. NewspaperDirect provides full hosting, payment acceptance, customer service management and full technical support.

NewspaperDirect also offers hundreds of newspaper and magazine titles through a Print-on-Demand global network of more than 1,200 print locations in 105 countries, delivering them to hotels, libraries, cruise ships, yachts, corporate and government offices, retail outlets and home subscribers.

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