GMTI BUYS AUTOCHOOSER FROM PENTAWAVE

By: Staff Reports Pentawave To Focus On Its Employment Product


Gannett Media Technologies International (GMTI) of Cincinnati has
purchased the assets of AutoChooser from Pentawave Inc. of
Scottsdale, Ariz. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pentawave will continue to run IdealHire, its online employment
solution for the media industry.

GMTI President and CEO Daniel Zito said AutoChooser's two dozen
employees will remain in Scottsdale. "We retained all the people
who were in place at AutoChooser," he said by phone from
Scottsdale. AutoChooser is used by about 125 newspapers.

The sale of AutoChooser leaves Pentawave with about 25 employees,
according to Chairman Bruce Culver. He said the sale brings much-
needed capital to the company, which has just unveiled a new
release for IdealHire. "The company is more secure this week than
it was last week," said Culver, who has been an investor in
Pentawave for five years. "Things look very positive." Pentawave
laid off about 14 people a few months ago.

"We've simplified IdealHire to make it easier for employers to
use," Culver added. The product is currently being used by about
14 media outlets, including the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution; The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.;
and The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.

As the founder of two employment staffing services, Culver said
he sees great potential for IdealHire. "Even in the depths of a
recession, people still have to hire people," he said. "I really
believe that the involvement of local media companies is
critical. Most hiring processes still happen locally."

At GMTI, Zito is also optimistic about AutoChooser, which has
been bringing in revenues, according to Culver. "It's not a time
to stop doing things just because the market has slowed down," he
said. AutoChooser will be merged with GMTI's own Celebro auto
classifieds system. While GMTI has concentrated on print-online
integration, AutoChooser has focused on building Web sites, Zito
said. "We think we have a good combination."

AutoChooser is currently not used by any newspapers in the
Gannett Co. Inc. chain. Zito anticipates that some Gannett papers
may choose to purchase the product, pointing out that there's no
corporate mandate that Gannett newspapers must use GMTI products.
GMTI is a subsidiary of Gannett Co. Inc.

"We feel that GMTI is a great new home for the [AutoChooser] team
and the business," said David Frenkel, founder and currently vice
president of business development at Pentawave. Frenkel said
Culver's experience in employment should be a boost to IdealHire.



Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.