Disney Earns Top Spot for Best Reputation in the News, Delahaye Index Shows
Tuesday, November 18, 2003 11:46 AM ET
Media Reputations of Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Advance with Positive Coverage
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2003--The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS, news) earned the top spot once again for holding the best reputation among America's largest companies, according to Delahaye's most recent Media Reputation Index, a quarterly assessment of how news affects corporate reputation. This marks the second consecutive quarter that findings from the study have assigned the designation of best reputation to the entertainment giant, which continued to benefit from this year's successful theatrical film releases.
The Media Reputation Index (MRi) is conducted by Delahaye, the communications research division of Medialink Worldwide Incorporated (Nasdaq: MDLK, news), a global leader in providing news and media services for professional communicators, and The Reputation Institute, a New York-based research group.
Analysis of more than 60,000 news stories during the third quarter showed a positive shift for the financial sector, as the strengthening economy helped companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co., climbing seven spots to the ninth position, and Citigroup, advancing to the eleventh spot from 34th place, benefit from positive coverage of record-setting third quarter 2003 earnings. The Goldman Sachs Group, which also reported an improved third quarter performance as compared to the same period last year, ranked sixteenth after moving from the 32nd spot.
According to this year's third quarter results, the positive net effect of news stories citing the MRi's top 100 companies grew nearly threefold from the same period in 2002. While the volume of stories has deceased since last year, the ratio has been overwhelmingly positive.
"Third quarter 2003 represents a bellwether in the media's treatment of the nation's 100 largest companies, as this is the first quarter in the history of the study in which not a single company had a negative aggregate score," stated Mark Weiner, Delahaye's Chief Executive Officer. "This relatively positive media outlook seems reflective of America's generally upbeat business environment, as the nation's journalists have turned their focus away from negative corporate behavior and scandal."
Third Quarter 2003 Media Reputation Index
Top Ten Companies
1. The Walt Disney Company
2. Microsoft
3. Wal-Mart
4. AOL Time Warner
5. Home Depot
6. General Electric
7. General Motors
8. Intel
9. Merill Lynch & Co.
10. IBM
To determine which companies are most highly respected in the nation's news pages and airwaves, Delahaye conducts a quarterly analysis of print and broadcast news appearing during a calendar year. Delahaye classifies media content into the six categories of the Reputation Quotient developed by the Reputation Institute with Harris Interactive: products and services, emotional appeal, financial performance, social responsibility, vision and leadership, and workplace environment.
"A change in reputation is likely to affect whether investors want to invest in the company's shares, which in turn changes a company's market value," offered Reputation Institute founder Dr. Charles Fombrun. "Reputation has been repeatedly linked to multiple measures of value including better access to capital, higher market-to-book ratios, premium pricing, and attracting and retaining the best employees. It's important to monitor how companies are featured in the media because any change in a company's media coverage can influence how people perceive the company, thereby affecting its reputation."
The 2003 Media Reputation Index is available through Norwalk, CT-based Delahaye Medialink (http://www.delahaye.com). For a base subscription fee of $5,000, subscribers have complete on-line access to organize and mine the data of all companies. For more information about the Reputation Institute, visit their website http://www.reputationinstitute.com
Methodology of 2003 Media Reputation Index
Delahaye begins by gathering news from 75 of America's most prominent national news sources. From The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to Fortune, ABC World News Tonight and Bloomberg, Delahaye captures all of the country's most influential business media. Delahaye estimates that the 2003 MRi includes analysis of over 350,000 different print and broadcast news items to measure reputational attributes of the Top 100 U.S. companies.
Each company's score is based on how many positive and negative reputation-driving attributes are found within each story. These attributes are classified into the six dimensions of the Harris-Fombrun Reputation Quotient: emotional appeal, products and services, vision and leadership, workplace environment, social responsibility and financial performance.
News stories are then scored based on Delahaye's Weighted Impact and Net Effect scores. These metrics give each clip a value based on its placement, prominence, extent of mention, use of visuals and most importantly, the article's tone. Multiplying these scores by a newspaper's circulation or a broadcast's audience creates Net Effect, a figure that indicates the number of people who have been positively or negatively exposed to each clip.
About Medialink:
Medialink (http://www.medialink.com) is a global leader in providing comprehensive and compelling multimedia communication solutions and services for more than 3,000 corporations and other organizations seeking to communicate news to their audiences through television, radio, print and the Internet. The company provides production and satellite distribution of video and audio news, multimedia webcasting services, press release newswire distribution, photography production and digital distribution, and strategic corporate communications consulting. Medialink also provides media monitoring and analysis and public relations research to help clients determine return on investment from their communications efforts. Based in New York, Medialink has 12 offices worldwide including an international hub in London.
For additional investor and financial information, please visit the recently launched Investor Relations section of the Company's Web site (http://www.medialink.com).
About Delahaye Medialink:
Since 1964, the people behind Delahaye Medialink (http://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 (http://www.reputationinstitute.com) is a private research organization devoted to building thought leadership about corporate reputations, their management, measurement and valuation. It brings together a global network of academics and practitioners interested in advancing knowledge about corporate reputations and improving the practice of reputation management.
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. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Such statements may relate, among other things, to our ability to respond to economic changes and improve operational efficiency, the benefits of our products to be realized by our customers, or our plans, objectives, and expected financial and operating results. Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances or using words such as: will, believe, anticipate, expect, could, may, estimate, project, plan, predict, intend or similar expressions that involve risk or uncertainty. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our recent history of losses, our ability to achieve or maintain profitability; worldwide economic weakness; effectiveness of our cost reduction programs; our ability to develop new services and market acceptance of such services, such as Teletrax; the volume and importance of breaking news which can have the effect of crowding out the content we produce and deliver to broadcast outlets on behalf of our clients; our ability to develop new products and services that keep pace with technology; our ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with critical vendors; the potential negative effects of our international operations on the Company; future acquisitions or divestitures may adversely affect our operations and financial results; the absence of long term contracts with customers and vendors; and increased competition, which may have an adverse effect on pricing, revenues, gross margins and our customer base. More detailed information about these risk 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, most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other publicly available information regarding the Company. 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.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003 11:46 AM ET
Media Reputations of Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Advance with Positive Coverage
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2003--The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS, news) earned the top spot once again for holding the best reputation among America's largest companies, according to Delahaye's most recent Media Reputation Index, a quarterly assessment of how news affects corporate reputation. This marks the second consecutive quarter that findings from the study have assigned the designation of best reputation to the entertainment giant, which continued to benefit from this year's successful theatrical film releases.
The Media Reputation Index (MRi) is conducted by Delahaye, the communications research division of Medialink Worldwide Incorporated (Nasdaq: MDLK, news), a global leader in providing news and media services for professional communicators, and The Reputation Institute, a New York-based research group.
Analysis of more than 60,000 news stories during the third quarter showed a positive shift for the financial sector, as the strengthening economy helped companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co., climbing seven spots to the ninth position, and Citigroup, advancing to the eleventh spot from 34th place, benefit from positive coverage of record-setting third quarter 2003 earnings. The Goldman Sachs Group, which also reported an improved third quarter performance as compared to the same period last year, ranked sixteenth after moving from the 32nd spot.
According to this year's third quarter results, the positive net effect of news stories citing the MRi's top 100 companies grew nearly threefold from the same period in 2002. While the volume of stories has deceased since last year, the ratio has been overwhelmingly positive.
"Third quarter 2003 represents a bellwether in the media's treatment of the nation's 100 largest companies, as this is the first quarter in the history of the study in which not a single company had a negative aggregate score," stated Mark Weiner, Delahaye's Chief Executive Officer. "This relatively positive media outlook seems reflective of America's generally upbeat business environment, as the nation's journalists have turned their focus away from negative corporate behavior and scandal."
Third Quarter 2003 Media Reputation Index
Top Ten Companies
1. The Walt Disney Company
2. Microsoft
3. Wal-Mart
4. AOL Time Warner
5. Home Depot
6. General Electric
7. General Motors
8. Intel
9. Merill Lynch & Co.
10. IBM
To determine which companies are most highly respected in the nation's news pages and airwaves, Delahaye conducts a quarterly analysis of print and broadcast news appearing during a calendar year. Delahaye classifies media content into the six categories of the Reputation Quotient developed by the Reputation Institute with Harris Interactive: products and services, emotional appeal, financial performance, social responsibility, vision and leadership, and workplace environment.
"A change in reputation is likely to affect whether investors want to invest in the company's shares, which in turn changes a company's market value," offered Reputation Institute founder Dr. Charles Fombrun. "Reputation has been repeatedly linked to multiple measures of value including better access to capital, higher market-to-book ratios, premium pricing, and attracting and retaining the best employees. It's important to monitor how companies are featured in the media because any change in a company's media coverage can influence how people perceive the company, thereby affecting its reputation."
The 2003 Media Reputation Index is available through Norwalk, CT-based Delahaye Medialink (http://www.delahaye.com). For a base subscription fee of $5,000, subscribers have complete on-line access to organize and mine the data of all companies. For more information about the Reputation Institute, visit their website http://www.reputationinstitute.com
Methodology of 2003 Media Reputation Index
Delahaye begins by gathering news from 75 of America's most prominent national news sources. From The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to Fortune, ABC World News Tonight and Bloomberg, Delahaye captures all of the country's most influential business media. Delahaye estimates that the 2003 MRi includes analysis of over 350,000 different print and broadcast news items to measure reputational attributes of the Top 100 U.S. companies.
Each company's score is based on how many positive and negative reputation-driving attributes are found within each story. These attributes are classified into the six dimensions of the Harris-Fombrun Reputation Quotient: emotional appeal, products and services, vision and leadership, workplace environment, social responsibility and financial performance.
News stories are then scored based on Delahaye's Weighted Impact and Net Effect scores. These metrics give each clip a value based on its placement, prominence, extent of mention, use of visuals and most importantly, the article's tone. Multiplying these scores by a newspaper's circulation or a broadcast's audience creates Net Effect, a figure that indicates the number of people who have been positively or negatively exposed to each clip.
About Medialink:
Medialink (http://www.medialink.com) is a global leader in providing comprehensive and compelling multimedia communication solutions and services for more than 3,000 corporations and other organizations seeking to communicate news to their audiences through television, radio, print and the Internet. The company provides production and satellite distribution of video and audio news, multimedia webcasting services, press release newswire distribution, photography production and digital distribution, and strategic corporate communications consulting. Medialink also provides media monitoring and analysis and public relations research to help clients determine return on investment from their communications efforts. Based in New York, Medialink has 12 offices worldwide including an international hub in London.
For additional investor and financial information, please visit the recently launched Investor Relations section of the Company's Web site (http://www.medialink.com).
About Delahaye Medialink:
Since 1964, the people behind Delahaye Medialink (http://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 (http://www.reputationinstitute.com) is a private research organization devoted to building thought leadership about corporate reputations, their management, measurement and valuation. It brings together a global network of academics and practitioners interested in advancing knowledge about corporate reputations and improving the practice of reputation management.
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. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Such statements may relate, among other things, to our ability to respond to economic changes and improve operational efficiency, the benefits of our products to be realized by our customers, or our plans, objectives, and expected financial and operating results. Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances or using words such as: will, believe, anticipate, expect, could, may, estimate, project, plan, predict, intend or similar expressions that involve risk or uncertainty. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our recent history of losses, our ability to achieve or maintain profitability; worldwide economic weakness; effectiveness of our cost reduction programs; our ability to develop new services and market acceptance of such services, such as Teletrax; the volume and importance of breaking news which can have the effect of crowding out the content we produce and deliver to broadcast outlets on behalf of our clients; our ability to develop new products and services that keep pace with technology; our ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with critical vendors; the potential negative effects of our international operations on the Company; future acquisitions or divestitures may adversely affect our operations and financial results; the absence of long term contracts with customers and vendors; and increased competition, which may have an adverse effect on pricing, revenues, gross margins and our customer base. More detailed information about these risk 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, most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other publicly available information regarding the Company. 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.