MCI's Grace Chen Trent and Brad Burns Named PR Professionals of the Year

ASHBURN, Va., June 14, 2004 - MCI, Inc. (MCIA.PK) today announced that its two senior communications executives have been named Public Relations Professionals of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Grace Chen Trent, MCI's Senior Vice President of Communications and Chief of Staff; and Brad Burns, MCI's Senior Vice President of Public Relations, received were recognized at PRSA's 2004 Silver Anvil Awards Ceremony in New York City. PRSA is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals.

PRSA's "PR Professionals of the Year" Award is the highest distinction presented by PRSA. Previous winners have included: Rick Kaufman, APR, Executive Director of Communications for Jefferson County Public Schools in Columbine, CO (2000); James Murphy, Global Managing Director, Marketing & Communications, Accenture (2001); Tim Doke, Vice President of Corporate Communications, American Airlines (2002); and Victoria Clarke, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Defense (2003).

Trent and Burns were both honored for their roles in leading the effort to help rebuild MCI's public image and corporate reputation.

"Grace and Brad both performed exceptionally well during this challenging period," said MCI President & CEO Michael Capellas, who attended the Silver Anvils Awards and chose to be on hand to present the award to the two of them. "They were on the front lines orchestrating the kinds of effective communications programs that helped enable MCI to rehabilitate itself and restore our stakeholders' trust in our company."

MCI's rebuilding process was anchored by Capellas' highly visible 100-Day Plan, which set the tone for the company's emergence from Chapter 11. In addition to a number of strategic external communications initiatives, the 100-Day Plan included a comprehensive internal communications strategy. That strategy included a redesigned employee Web site, which opened another line of communication between employees and the company's senior leadership, along with Capellas meetings with employees and management team members at 21 major MCI sites and the facilitation of five interactive Webcasts for employees worldwide.

"We are pleased to be honoring two exceptional individuals with PRSA's PR Professional of the Year Award," said Gerard F. Corbett, APR, PRSA Fellow, chair of the PRSA Honors and Awards Committee. "MCI's successful turnaround speaks well to the role played by public relations and the vital contributions made by Grace Trent and Brad Burns."

About MCI
MCI, Inc. (MCIA.PK) is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With the industry's most expansive global IP backbone, based on the number of company-owned points-of-presence, and wholly-owned data networks, MCI develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's markets. For more information, go to www.mci.com.