DALLAS, April 4, 2001 (PRIMEZONE)-- Wieck Media Services, which pioneered the cost-effective delivery of news and high-resolutions images over the Internet, announced Wednesday that it has moved to larger offices to accommodate its growing list of international clients.
The move to Addison, a suburb of Dallas, comes on the eve of the company's 10th anniversary and barely a year after Wieck opened a second office in London to support its European clients. Wieck helps its clients distribute text and images to an international roster of publications.
To celebrate both the move and the anniversary, Wieck Media Services will hold an open house on Friday, May 4, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., at its new location, 4002 Belt Line Road, Suite 150. The company will host a Cinco de Mayo anniversary reception at the Holiday Inn Select, 2645 LBJ Freeway, Saturday night, May 5.
"When we started this company we were just a bunch of former wire service reporters, photographers and executives with what a lot of people thought was a crazy idea," said James F. Wieck, president of the company.
"At the time, we never could have imagined that the Internet would put our idea at the forefront of technology," Wieck added. "And now our high-speed ability to deliver images to newspapers and magazines all over the world is saving our clients millions of dollars every year."
In addition to its own media Website, Wieck manages and maintains Web sites and databases for the world's largest automakers as well as other corporate clients and media firms. Registered media from every continent log in to the Websites to preview files and download them almost instantaneously from the databases.
During the 2001 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, for example, publications downloaded nearly 27,000 high-resolution automotive images in just four days.
Company Began Operations in May 1991
The company began operations in May 1991 as a partnership between Wieck and Travis Hughs, who died March 19 following a lengthy battle with lymphoma.
"We're dedicating the new office to Travis," said Wieck, who, like Hughs, spent 23 years as an executive with United Press International. "Travis wanted so much to make the move to our new offices and help celebrate our 10th anniversary. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be."
Still, Hughs did live to see his company sign on Honda late last year as Wieck's fifth major automotive client. General Motors also recently renewed its contract for three years with expanded services.
Last fall, Wieck inaugurated a new mobile "Event Support Desk" for the automakers and others who need onsite media support at company events and trade shows. The support desks feature multiple work stations equipped with computers and scanners that enable writers and photographers to file copy and images while on location.
"The whole idea of an image database with electronic distribution of photos was Travis' brainchild," said Marge Boatright, vice president for sales and marketing. "He was always ahead of the field in applying new technology for media use."
Wieck began operations a decade ago in a 120-square foot room containing a leased imaging computer system and a matrix switch to link publications to the system. Its first client was The New York Times News Service, which contracted Wieck to distribute its photographs.
"Publications would call our desk and ask for a particular photo and then connect their telephone line to their receiving equipment," said General Manager Tim Roberts. "We'd wait for a few seconds, then switch the call through the matrix to our computer and kick off the transmission. This was in the last days of analog technology and it took about 10 minutes to send a black and white photo.
"Publications now use the Web to skim through files in our databases and downloading takes just a few seconds," said Roberts.
Wieck's clients include a "Who's Who" of media and Fortune 500 companies, including Agence France-Presse, American Honda Motor Corp., Anheuser-Busch Cos., AT&T, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, The Coca-Cola Co., Hearst News Service, LAT Photographic, Lyrick Studios, The New York Times Newspaper Group, The New York Times Syndicate and News Services, Newsmakers, Toyota Corporate Services and Visteon.
For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.wieck.com.