Delahaye Medialink Announces Results of the Media Reputation Index 2001 Benchmark Study.

Business Editors

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2001

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) received the No. 1 ranking in the first Media Reputation Index (MRi) 2001 Benchmark Study, announced today by Delahaye Medialink, a division of Medialink Worldwide Incorporated (Nasdaq: MDLK), and The Reputation Institute, a global authority on building corporate reputation.

MRi is a study that assesses the media's impact on corporate reputation, providing the basis for understanding and improving a company's perception as covered by the news media. The index benchmarks the 100 largest US-based companies including Exxon Mobil Corporation, General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., tracking and evaluating each company's media coverage over time and versus all 100 companies.

Despite negative coverage associated with the company's ongoing legal issues, Microsoft received the highest corporate reputation ranking based on media coverage in more than 250,000 print and broadcast news stories during the first six months of 2001. Rounding out the top-10 were Walt Disney, IBM, General Electric, AOL Time Warner, Boeing, Intel, AT&T, General Motors and Wal-Mart.

The first MRi study was derived from a six-month study that assessed the media's impact on corporate reputation from January 2001 through June 2001. The index measures the elements of media coverage affecting corporate reputation derived from an analysis of news coverage in hundreds of media outlets including print, broadcast, trade and consumer sources. The index is based on The Reputation Quotient(R), The Reputation Institute's methodology for evaluating corporate reputation through the analysis of a company's emotional appeal, vision & leadership, financial performance, workplace environment, social responsibility, and products and services. The rankings are then based on the index score derived from "Net Effect", a proprietary methodology that quantifies the key drivers of corporate reputation into a measurement which accounts for the quality of editorial content, print circulation and broadcast audience reach, allowing companies to monitor media influences on corporate perception.

"The 'Net Effect' of media coverage contributes to changes in corporate reputation," explained K.C. Brown, Research Director and MRi Product Manager of Delahaye Medialink. "For instance, Microsoft received considerable negative coverage surrounding anti-trust and lawsuit coverage. Our research, however, revealed that it scored extremely well overall due to news items covering the company's financial performance and its growth potential, providing valuable feedback pertaining to the company's development and delivery of its corporate message."

Additional results from the MRi study revealed that Ford Motor Co. ranked 33rd in the index by successfully implementing and overcoming crisis communications throughout the first half of 2001. Analysis of the results showed that broadcast coverage hurt Ford due to short report segments where negative messages were reinforced. However, Ford was able to neutralize the majority of newspaper and magazine stories with inclusion of its positive corporate message. Additionally, Pacific Gas & Electric finished last in the rankings. Throughout the first six months of 2001, the company was caught in the middle of the California energy crisis, had to declare bankruptcy and was unable to communicate its message through media outlets.

"We plan to continue to conduct the Media Reputation Index study to identify trends, provide valuable information to US-based corporations and test our hypothesis," continued K.C. Brown. "The data reveals answers to important questions and provides critical information to evaluate a company's ROI of its corporate communications program."

To receive a complimentary summary and accompanying charts from The Media Reputation Index 2001 Benchmark report, email to: [e-mail] or call 1-800-926-0028 x. 112.

About Delahaye Medialink:

Since 1964, the people behind Delahaye Medialink (www.delahayemedialink.com) have been combining research technique, technology and insight to help companies understand and improve their reputations, plan and evaluate their communications programs and sharpen their competitive edge worldwide. Whether communicating internally or externally, via broadcast, online or print media, Delahaye Medialink provides research to accurately assess communications performance and the advice to execute successful communications programs. Delahaye Medialink, with offices in Norwalk, CT, Portsmouth NH, and London, England, is a division of Medialink Worldwide Incorporated.

About The Reputation Institute:

The Reputation Institute (www.reputationinstitute.com) is a private research organization founded by Prof. Charles Fombrun, Stern School of Business, New York University, and Prof. Cees van Riel, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The Institute's mission and core purpose is to build thought leadership about corporate reputations, their management, measurement and valuation. It brings together a global network of academic institutions and leading edge practitioners interested in advancing knowledge about corporate reputations and their findings are often published in the Wall Street Journal.

With the exception of the historical information contained in the release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors. More detailed information about those factors is set forth in filings by Medialink Worldwide Incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's registration statement, most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and most recent annual report on Form 10-K. Medialink Worldwide Incorporated is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.