Institute for Public Relations Names Mark Weiner Measurement Commission Chair

1/28/2004

From: Jessica Bram of Jessica Bram Communications, 203-227-3250 or jessica@jbram.com, Jack Felton of the Institute for Public Relations, 352-392-0280 or mhinson@jou.ufl.edu

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 28 -- Mark Weiner, chief executive officer and founder of Delahaye, the communications research division of Medialink Worldwide Inc.(Nasdaq: MDLK), has been named chair of the Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation of the Institute for Public Relations for 2004.

As chief executive officer and founder of Delahaye, Weiner oversees an international firm that provides a variety of media analysis and survey research services tailored to meet the special requirements of professional communicators around the globe.

In making the announcement today, IPR president Jack Felton said, "Mark is a well recognized leader in the measurement and evaluation of public relations and marketing programs. His outstanding experience in serving diversified clients makes him a valuable asset to IPR's efforts in proving the value and the effectiveness of public relations. We believe Mark will be a great help in our continuing search to find even more effective measures for the public relations industry."

"I'm very excited about the IPR and what we'll be able to accomplish during my term," noted Weiner.

Prior to founding Delahaye Medialink, Mark Weiner was senior vice president and co-founder of Copernicus, a marketing investment strategy group, where he headed the firm's Integrated Marketing Communications Analysis practice. He also previously served as managing partner of PR Data, a company specializing in the content analysis of news coverage. Weiner began his career with the New York Times News Services, later becoming an editor and syndicated newspaper columnist with the McNaught Newspaper Syndicate.

In addition to having served on IPR's Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation since its founding in 1998, Weiner is a frequent lecturer on measurement topics for the Conference Board, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and the Public Relations Society of America, (PRSA).

The Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation was established by IPR to be the leading provider of information about and advocate for public relations research and evaluation. Since its founding in 1998 the Commission has led the field in research and dissemination of "best practices" in PR measurement and evaluation. Publications of the Commission include "Guidelines and Standards for Measuring the Effectiveness of PR Programs and Activities" by Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann, "Setting Measurable Public Relations Objectives" by Forrest W. Anderson and Linda Hadley, and "Guidelines for Measuring Relationships in Public Relations" by Dr. Linda Childers Hon and Dr. James E. Grunig. The Measurement Commission's non-proprietary research is available at no cost to those in or out of the PR field at http://www.instituteforpr.com/.