Hoover's Launches Powerful New Search Tool

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Allows Access To Information On More Than 150,000 Business Leaders Worldwide

AUSTIN, TEXAS - March 5, 2002 - In an ongoing effort to provide subscribers with new, valuable services, Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV), a leading provider of business information, today announced a new advanced search tool on Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com). The Hoover's Advanced People Search allows customizable searches by more than 20 different criteria, including job function, job title keyword, age, salary, location and company.

Sales, marketing, recruiting, business development and other professionals can now use Advanced People Search to find key decision-makers at companies in the Hoover's database. For example, subscribers can use the tool to quickly locate general managers who earn more than $100,000, are between 45 and 65 years of age, and who work for California-based public companies that trade on the Nasdaq. Hoover's Advanced People Search also allows searches for people with specific job responsibilities, regardless of the differences in titles from one company to another.

"Hoover's Advanced People Search has helped our sales force considerably. As part of our marketing responsibility, we qualify and supply prospect information to our sales force. Hoover's Advanced People Search provides ease of access and quick results, cutting our research time and reducing the amount of calls needed to find the right decision-maker within an organization," said Brad Benning, marketing and sales support representative for Banta Corporation.

"Whether our subscribers are looking for sales prospects, potential business partners or recruiting leads, they now have the search functionality they need to target the right people," said Russell Secker, Hoover's senior vice president of product management. "Our subscribers have been able to search Hoover's Online for companies that match more than a dozen search criteria, but Hoover's Advanced People Search now satisfies additional requests by enabling our customers to search for contact information and biographies for individual decision-makers."

"I am thrilled to see Hoover's add the Advanced People Search option to an already quality service," said Diane Haddock, senior partner of SP3 International. "This new tool saves me time and effort by allowing me to effectively research companies and locate the decision-makers very quickly, which is extremely important for a business development administrator."

About Hoover's, Inc.

Hoover's, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOV) is a leading provider of business information. Hoover's publishes authoritative information on public and private companies worldwide, and provides industry and market intelligence. This information, along with advanced searching tools, is available through Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com), the company's premier online service that helps sales, marketing, recruiting and business development professionals and senior-level executives get the global intelligence they need to grow their businesses. Hoover's business information is also available through corporate intranets and distribution agreements with licensees, as well as via print and CD-ROM products from Hoover's Business Press. 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 may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events or results that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the expected benefits of strategic relationships, future services and new products. Among the important factors which could cause actual results of Hoover's to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are the market demand and acceptance of new and enhanced services, the success of new features and tools from Hoover's Online, the retention of subscribers and customers, ability to attract new subscribers and customers, competition, economic conditions specific to the Internet, as well as general economic and market conditions and other factors described 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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