Sonic Foundry Announces Winners of Third Annual Rich Media Impact Awards at User Conference

MADISON, WI — Sonic Foundry® Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), a leader in automated rich media communications technology, today announced the winners of its third annual Rich Media Impact Awards. The winners were recognized at a special awards dinner during UNLEASH 2007, the first ever Mediasite® users conference.

The awards highlight excellence in the practical and creative integration of rich media in business, education, health and government. Winners and finalists demonstrate how Mediasite has transformed their organizations through measurable improvements in accessibility, cost savings, efficiency and productivity.

Since its introduction in 2003, Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite has set the standard as a transformational communication medium for delivering critical information and sharing knowledge. Trusted by corporations, government, health and education institutions, the patented Mediasite webcasting and content management system quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of rich media presentations that combine audio, video and accompanying graphics for live or on-demand viewing.

“This year’s winners demonstrate the increasing prevalence of web communications in leading corporate, higher education, health care and government organizations,” said Darrin Coulson, chief operating officer of Sonic Foundry. “The applicants, finalists and winners alike are all to be commended for their innovative use of Mediasite to overcome complex communication and business challenges. We are privileged to have their participation in this program.”

The following organizations were recognized for using Mediasite to transform how their organizations communicate.

2007 Rich Media Impact Award Winners
Enterprise Award – This award recognizes a company who improved its business outcomes through web communication. The 2007 winner is Faegre and Benson, one of the largest and most respected law firms in the world. Faegre & Benson deployed Mediasite as a means of capturing professional development workshops, partner meetings and seminars that relate to the firm’s diversity and community outreach initiatives. Using Mediasite, Faegre & Benson is expanding communication and training beyond its original expectations and continues to develop innovative new ways of assisting their clients. www.faegre.com

Government Award – This award recognizes a local, state or federal government initiative that implemented rich media for training and outreach. The 2007 winner is the Association for Public Health Laboratories. The association’s training program, The National Laboratory Training Network, which is cosponsored by CDC, is dedicated to providing continuing education to laboratory professionals worldwide. The use of Mediasite has allowed the association to webcast and archive high priority public health training for the laboratory community, including military laboratory scientists stationed around the world. www.aphl.org

Global Reach Award – This award recognizes any successful initiative that reached the international community through web communications. The 2007 winner is St. George’s University. With campuses on the Caribbean islands of Grenada and St. Vincent and in the United Kingdom at Northumbria, St. George’s University has standardized all lecture halls with rack-mounted Mediasite units. The university also has utilized portable Mediasite units for off-site seminars and lectures. Mediasite is being used across all locations as a means of ensuring curriculum continuity across all campuses spread around the world. www.sgu.edu

Facility Design Award – This award recognizes a professional AV design or consulting firm that created innovative rich media rooms and facilities. The 2007 winner is the University of Southern California’s Provost's Office. The University appointed a Chief Technology Officer for Enhanced Learning to spearhead the infrastructure for new teaching and learning paradigms on an accelerated timetable. Within a three-month period, the University implemented the Distance Learning Initiative, installing fourteen Mediasite-based studio classrooms and two mobile cart systems and resulting in improved classroom environments, learning outcomes and faculty-student communication. www.usc.edu

Excellence in Distance Education Award – This award recognizes a higher education institution that transformed its distance education program through web communications. The 2007 winner is California State University at San Marcos. Mediasite is widely used for online learning, sharing student presentations, capturing guest speakers and enhancing face-to-face instruction. Over the past year, more than 400 events have been recorded and archived for faculty, students and alumni to view. In addition, Mediasite is also being utilized for business support activities, providing on-demand training to all areas of the campus. www.csusm.edu

Scholastic Achievement Award – This award recognizes a school district or other organization serving the K-12 educational community that harnessed the power of web communications to improve communication, learning and outreach. The 2007 winner is Arizona State University College of Teacher Education and Leadership. Their project, which grew out of a $10 million United States Department of Education grant, includes Professional Development Schools and Teacher Education Network of Excellence Through Technology. In an effort to ensure that all classrooms are equipped with well-trained teachers in lower income and rural school districts, the program uses Mediasite to webcast professional development and graduate level courses in math, science and reading to elementary and high school teachers. www.asu.edu

Healthcare Award – This award recognizes an organization that implemented rich media to benefit health and wellness. The 2007 winner is Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. As one of the national leading medical centers for children, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital uses Mediasite to improve continuous learning and knowledge retention of hospital grand rounds. The hospital has captured more than 1,500 presentations and expects to continue to expand the use of Mediasite for medical certification credits and blended learning. http://www.cchmc.org

Rapid ROI Award – This award recognizes an organization that used web communications to quickly achieve a measurable ROI in its training, communications or outreach initiatives. The 2007 winner is Michigan Public Health Institute. With an estimated $900 million deficit in the State of Michigan budget, the Institute partnered with the Michigan Department of Community Health to maximize training opportunities for staff, vendors and partners across the state via Mediasite. In just six months, the Institute conservatively estimates that they have saved the state more than $250,000 in travel and productivity costs. http://www.mphi.org