Hoover's, Inc. Names Frank Milano As Investor Relations Officer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TEXAS - December 13, 2001 - Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV) today announced that Frank Milano has joined the company as investor relations officer. Hoover's, the publisher of Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com), delivers comprehensive global information on companies, industries and the people who lead them.

Milano will manage all investor relations efforts for Hoover's, and will be responsible for helping Hoover's executive team inform the investment and analyst community of the company's strategic and financial plans and actual results. He will report to Lynn Atchison, Hoover's CFO.

Milano, who brings almost eight years of investor relations and 20 years of overall accounting and corporate finance experience, joins Hoover's from Fourthstage Technologies, Inc., where he served as investor relations director. Prior to Fourthstage, Milano served in the finance organization at VTEL Corporation, and as an investor relations manager for Dell Computer Corporation. Milano began his career with Amoco Corporation (now BP p.l.c.), where he spent 13 years in accounting and finance. He holds an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.B.A. in Accounting from Western Illinois University.

"Frank brings years of valuable, broad experience to his role, and his background in directing corporate finance and investor relations should enhance Hoover's shareholder value," said Jeffrey R. Tarr, president and CEO of Hoover's. "His knowledge and professional communication skills will help ensure that Hoover's continues to develop and maintain strong relationships with the investment community."

The company's decision to internalize the investor relations function is consistent with management's focused strategy announced at the end of September 2001. Hoover's has elected to focus additional resources on external messaging as the company drives toward GAAP net income profitability.

About Hoover's

Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV) provides online business information and tools to help businesspeople get their jobs done. Hoover's information is available through its destination site Hoover's Online (http://www.hoovers.com); through co-branding agreements with other online services; and through enterprise information portals. Hoover's investors include AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL), Media General (NYSE: MEG), and Knowledge Universe, through its Knowledge Net Holdings and Nextera Enterprises (Nasdaq: NXRA) units. Hoover's is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has offices in New York City and San Francisco.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to future events or results that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the success of the company's strategy and the impact of the company's new investor relations officer. Among the important factors which could cause actual results of Hoover's to differ materially from those contained herein include the development and success of new features and tools on Hoover's Online, expected benefits of strategic relationships, both the short and long-term industry outlook for the growth of online business services, advertising and e-commerce, market demand and acceptance of new and enhanced services, retention of existing subscribers and customers, the company's ability to attract new subscribers and customers, in particular, but not exclusively enterprise accounts, the company's ability to lead in its market segments, the company's ability to generate revenue growth and achieve and sustain profitability, its ability to achieve and sustain positive cash flow on a continued basis, competition, economic conditions specific to the Internet, as well as general economic and market conditions which might be significantly impacted t terrorist attacks on the U.S., and other factors detailed in Hoover's reports and documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its prospectus and recent 10-K and 10-Q filings.

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