OCRegister.com and Taldia, Inc. launch audio news and podcast service

SANTA ANA and ALTADENA, Calif. - Dec. 6, 2006 - Freedom Orange County Information and Taldia, Inc. today announced the launch of OCRegister.com Audio News & Podcasts, a service which allows users to select and listen to news summaries published in The Orange County Register or OCRegister.com. The Orange County Register is the first newspaper publisher in the country to offer Taldia's audio news service on its Web site.

The audio reports are accessible by computer through desktop players, or can be downloaded onto portable devices, such as an MP3 player or Apple iPod. It is a free service and accessible directly at ocregister.com/podcasts, or through "Audio News" links and banners throughout the OCRegister.com Web site.

"The OCRegister.com Audio News & Podcasts service is a convenient way for busy people to connect to the Register's news and information," said Terry Moore, deputy editor for Online at Freedom Orange County Information. "The Register's information becomes more accessible and portable with this audio service. People can now listen to summaries of specific interest to them, whenever and wherever they want."

"Taldia created a product to help OCRegister.com leverage its existing users, while introducing new audiences to the increasing phenomenon of podcasting," said Rys Fairbrother, President of Taldia, Inc. "This service meets an increasing need to provide the public with personalized content choices, and empowers an individual to utilize trusted content from the Register and OCRegister.com to create their own custom audio newscast."

The OCRegister.com Audio News & Podcasts Web page includes a speaker icon alongside text links, allowing users to listen to a condensed version of stories or click on a text link to read the full story.

Content from the Register appears on the left side of the ocregister.com/podcasts Web page. Categories include Top News, Business, Sports, Life and Entertainment. To the right of the Register categories is content from Associated Press, the world's largest newsgathering organization and one of Taldia's technology partners. In all, more than 30 minutes of audio content is posted to the OCRegister.com Audio News & Podcasts site.

Freedom Orange County Information supplies its content to Taldia each weekday after midnight through RSS feeds. Taldia then uses professional voice talent to produce audio summaries of the Register's full-length stories during the early morning hours. The audio links are then posted live to the site by 6 a.m.

Individual audio clips or playlists will include pre-run advertisements or sponsorships, sold by either Taldia or Freedom Orange County Information. Advertising and sponsorship revenue will be shared between partners.

Freedom Orange County Information will promote the new audio service through print advertisements in the Register, online banners, its weekly Entertainment e-newsletter and audio spots broadcast in local grocery stores.

About Freedom Orange County
Information Based in Santa Ana, Calif., Freedom Orange County Information is publisher of The Orange County Register, a three-time, Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper that celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2005. It also publishes OC POST, 24 community newspapers, Spanish-language Excélsior; SqueezeOC.com and companion magazine SqueezeOC; insert-advertising products OC$aver This Week and monthly OC$aver, OCSaver.com; OCRegister.com, OCPOST.com, OCExcelsior.com and GolfExtra membership card. OCR Magazines, specialty publications division of Freedom Orange County Information, publishes Coast, Orange County Home, Coast kids, Preferred Destinations and publications supporting the performing arts.

About Taldia, Inc.
Taldia, Inc. of Altadena, Calif. realized early on that new mobile technology could support the potential of daily news content being converted from text to audio so people can listen to the news, up to date and on the go. Through content deals with print publishers and creating technology to manage the process, the daily news is available in categories such as Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Business and many more. News stories are recorded by Taldia's stable of professional voiceover talent with experience in radio, book narration and on-air announcing. Taldia's proprietary content management software and distribution platform enables other media companies to monetize their existing assets in this new space. Current content and technology partners include the Associated Press, Motorola iRadio, Media Bay and The Orange County Register.

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