NEW YORK, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission's decision to consider accepting voluntary submissions of corporate
filings produced using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a
positive step toward giving investors access to a powerful new format to
analyze financial information, PR Newswire said today.
     (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO )
    PR Newswire, which distributes earnings announcements and other material
news releases for more than half of all U.S. companies listed on New York
Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market, has for 50
years been supportive of any initiative that improves the investing public's
access to corporate information in all formats.
    "When offered in addition to existing disclosure rules that encourage
broad dissemination of material news to investors through the media, XBRL can
greatly assist investors in their research and analysis of individual
companies, peer groups and entire sectors," said Dave Armon, chief operating
officer of PR Newswire.  "The implementation of XBRL as a filing format has
the potential to improve the transparency of information to investors, as long
as all material information is broadly disclosed.  That's what PR Newswire has
always stood for -- the letter and the spirit of disclosure."
    In its announcement Thursday, the SEC said it would seek public comment on
alternative methods and the costs and benefits associated with tagged data.
The commission also said it would consider a staff proposal to accept
voluntary supplemental filings of financial data using XBRL.
    Data tagging is a format for enhancing financial reporting data using
eXtensible Mark-Up Language (XML) derivatives, such as XBRL.  Tagging provides
greater context to data through standard definitions that turn text-based
information, such as the filings currently contained in the Commission's EDGAR
system, into documents that can be more efficiently and effectively retrieved,
searched and analyzed through automated means.  Data tags describe information
such as items included in financial statements.  This enables investors and
other marketplace participants to analyze data from different sources and
allows for the automatic exchange of financial information across various
software platforms, including web services.
    In July 2003, PR Newswire took a leadership position in the domestic arm
of XBRL International, a consortium of more than 200 companies working to
adopt XBRL as an accepted global standard for financial reporting, with the
appointment of Michelle Horowitz, vice president of Content Development for PR
Newswire, to chairperson of the U.S. adoption committee.  In this role
Horowitz has been quoted saying, "Working for PR Newswire, I am intimately
familiar with the challenges that companies face when communicating and
comprehending financial reports.  XBRL offers a simple and effective mechanism
for companies to present financial information and for investors and analysts
to interpret the data.  As pioneers of the commercial newswire industry,
PR Newswire's membership in XBRL-U.S. is indicative of the company's
commitment to lead the way in researching and developing new products,
services and technologies that enable our clients to communicate with their
key stakeholders -- the media, financial community and the general public."
    PR Newswire has been assisting public companies in meeting disclosure
since its inception in 1954.  Recipients of these news releases include news
services, print and broadcast media worldwide, the general public and
investors -- both individual and institutional -- through 3,600 online sites
and more than one million institutional screens operated by Bloomberg, Reuters
and Thomson.  PR Newswire also assists customers filing to the SEC's EDGAR
database.
    Content from PR Newswire is available in multiple formats including XML
and NewsML, a news media standard for tagged copy.  In addition, an RSS feed
of PR Newswire content has increased readership of news releases issued over
PR Newswire, via news readers, blogs and sites that rely on RSS.

    About PR Newswire
    Now in its 50th year, PR Newswire Association LLC
(http://www.prnewswire.com) provides electronic distribution,
targeting,
measurement, translation and broadcast services on behalf of some 40,000
corporate, government, association, labor, non-profit, and other customers
worldwide who seek to reach a variety of critical audiences including the news
media, the investment community, government decision-makers, and the general
public with their up-to-the-minute, full-text news developments.  Established
in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in 14 countries and routinely sends its
customers' news to outlets in 135 countries and in 30 languages.  Utilizing
the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a
mainstay among news reporters, investors and individuals who seek breaking
news from the source.   PR Newswire's leading brands include ProfNet(SM),
eWatch(TM), MEDIAtlas(TM) and MultiVu(TM).  PR Newswire is a subsidiary of
United Business Media plc of London.

     Contact:  Rachel Asche, Director of Public Relations, PR Newswire,
212.282.1929 or rachel.asche@prnewswire.com