Feb. 7, 2001

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam has joined ESPN.com's Page 2 as a regular columnist and will pen bi-weekly columns on myriad topics surrounding the world of sports. The author of 12 bestsellers, including Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made, joins gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, veteran writer Ralph Wiley and humorist Nick Bakay as Page 2 contributors. Halberstam's first column can be found at: http://espn.go.com/page2/s/halberstam/010207.html. ESPN.com, the leading sports site, is part of the Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE:DIG).

"David is one of the preeminent journalists of our generation as well as a passionate sports fan, and we're fortunate to now have him available to our users on a regular basis," said John Walsh, senior vice president and executive editor, ESPN Internet Group.

"I'm delighted to be part of something new like the Internet, which I don't yet understand," said Halberstam. "But I hope my experience with ESPN.com will help me understand it."

Halberstam's landmark trilogy of books on power in America, The Best and the Brightest, The Powers That Be, and The Reckoning, earned him numerous industry awards, while his work as a reporter in Vietnam for The New York Times earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1964. He is also a recipient of 20 honorary degrees and a member of the elite Society of American Historians.

Halberstam's other sports-related bestsellers include Summer of '49, a look at the pennant race between New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox; October 1964, an account of the Yankees-Cardinals World Series; and The Breaks of the Game, a year in the life of the 1979 Portland Trailblazers. He also served as editor of the bestselling The Best American Sports Writing of the Century and author of The Amateurs, chronicling four 1984 Olympic hopefuls on the amateur rowing circuit. Halberstam also penned the introduction of ESPN SportsCentury.

ESPN.com, the leading sports Web site, is part of the Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE:DIG). Walt Disney Internet Group manages many of the most popular Web sites and services, including Disney.com, the number one Web site for kids and families; ESPN.com, the leading sports site; ABC.com, the leading broadcast network site; and ABCNEWS.com, one of the leading news sites. Additional properties include Family.com, Mr.Showbiz, Movies.com, Wall of Sound, DisneyAuctions.com, DisneyStore.com, DisneyVacations.com, Soccernet.com and NFL.com. Walt Disney Internet Group also produces Enhanced TV telecasts in conjunction with select ABC Television and ESPN programming and includes the catalog operations of The Walt Disney Company and 19 Disney-branded international properties. Steve Bornstein is the chairman of Walt Disney Internet Group, which is headquartered in North Hollywood, CA, and has operations in Bristol, CT; Seattle; New York; and London.