Lincoln Bicentennial Show Goes On with Mediasite Despite Winter Weather Cancellations
Sonic Foundry commemorates Presidents Day by featuring recent presidential webcasts
MADISON, Wis. - February 12, 2009 - Kentucky schoolchildren will join the nation in commemorating the bicentennial birthday of Abraham Lincoln via online webcasts with Mediasite by Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management. The virtual celebration is the result of extensive efforts to webcast educational technology programs by The Center for Rural Development in Kentucky.
The Center launched an initiative to bring Lincoln's 200th birthday celebration to 10,000 students in 42 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky, the state of Lincoln's birth, through on-site presentations and dramatic performances developed by The Center's Arts and Culture Outreach Program. When snow and frigid temperatures closed schools throughout the region and postponed scheduled performances, The Center decided to record the scheduled presenters with Mediasite so teachers could share programs with their students online and in time for Lincoln's birthday.
"Using Mediasite to provide students with this living history lesson is truly the next best thing to being there in person," said Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center for Rural Development. "We are proud to partner with Sonic Foundry to honor Lincoln, a Kentucky native and political figure whose impact on our nation should never be forgotten."
Teachers and school administrators across Kentucky can access the Mediasite presentations during class time simply by opening a web link to an online Mediasite Presentation Catalog. Among the multimedia recordings are presentations by experts from the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University and the National Park Service's Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky.
"The Center for Rural Development is a leader in leveraging classroom technologies like Mediasite to provide quality educational programming," said Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. "Sonic Foundry is committed to offering a superior product that can be depended upon from day to day online courses to situations demanding innovative solutions. We're elated that Mediasite could come through for The Center and allow the bicentennial celebration to continue as planned."
The Center's celebration will continue through February, resuming after a one-day break in observance of Presidents Day on February 16, a holiday that marks the anniversary of Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays but officially honors all past presidents. To view The Center's Lincoln Bicentennial presentations and other featured presidential webcasts, visit these links:
About Sonic Foundry ®, Inc.
Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the
global leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, providing enterprise communication
solutions for more than 1,600 customers in education, business and government. Powered by Mediasite,
the patented webcasting platform which automates the capture, management, delivery and search of
lectures, online training and briefings, Sonic Foundry empowers people to transform the way they
communicate. Through the Mediasite platform and its Events Services group, the company helps customers
connect a dynamic, evolving world of shared knowledge and envisions a future where learners and workers
around the globe use webcasting to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance.
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historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking
statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially
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could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to,
uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products,
its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or
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and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities
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