AUSTIN BARKER PROMOTED TO VICE PRESIDENT, BROADCAST ASSETS, FOR UNIVERSAL PICTURES

AUSTIN BARKER PROMOTED TO VICE PRESIDENT, BROADCAST ASSETS, FOR UNIVERSAL PICTURES

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Austin Barker has been promoted to vice president, broadcast assets, for Universal Pictures, it was announced today by Michael Moses, executive vice president, publicity.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050601/LAW115)

Mr. Barker, who previously served as executive director, broadcast assets for Universal, oversees all aspects of production of broadcast materials on the entire slate of Universal's feature films. The materials he and his team create are repurposed throughout the studio's divisions and have become key strategic cornerstones for Universal's campaigns. He continues to report to Mr. Moses.

"Since joining the company, Austin has kept pace with the unprecedented growth of the broadcast assets department and expanded its reach far and above where it was four years ago. We continue to benefit from his creative vision and discipline on a myriad of broadcast materials. Austin's immeasurable contributions are key to making our publicity department function with strategic vigor," stated Mr. Moses.

Mr. Barker first joined Universal Publicity in 2000 as a senior publicist in broadcast assets, and was later promoted to executive director of the department in 2002. Over this time, he has overseen the production of all broadcast materials in conjunction with such notable campaigns as "A Beautiful Mind," the "Bourne" series, "Friday Night Lights," "Ray" and recently, "Meet the Fockers." He will oversee the execution of broadcast assets for such anticipated upcoming Universal titles as "Cinderella Man," "Jarhead," "The Producers" and "King Kong."

Mr. Barker graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in media arts and journalism from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining the Universal team, he held the position of director of field publicity and promotions (western region) at Miramax Films from 1997 to 2000. Previous positions include one year as an assistant to the vice president of field at Buena Vista Pictures marketing and three years in the field as a news reporter for various NBC affiliate stations.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050601/LAW115 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Universal Pictures

CONTACT: Paul Pflug, +1-818-777-0020, paul.pflug@nbcuni.com, or Amy Pfister, +1-818-777-9413, amy.pfister@nbcuni.com, both of Universal Pictures

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