FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                    FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2003

Stephen L. Buckner                                          CB03-CN.01
Public Information Office 
(301) 763-3691/457-3620 (fax)
(301) 457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: <2000usa@census.gov>

                ***CENSUS BUREAU MEDIA ADVISORY***

Commerce, Census Bureau Officials to Ring NYSE Opening Bell Ceremony Highlights Economic Census
                                 
What:  Officials from the Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau will
 participate in the morning bell-ringing ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange
 to highlight the importance of the 2002 Economic Census. More than 5 million 
businesses across the nation received questionnaires mailed out last month.

When:  Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. EST

Who:   Kathleen B. Cooper, under secretary for economic affairs, Department of Commerce
           C. Louis Kincannon, director, Census Bureau
           J. Steven Landefeld, director, Bureau of Economic Analysis
           Tony Farthing, regional director, New York regional office, Census Bureau
           F.T. Knickerbocker, associate director for economic programs, Census Bureau
       
Where: New York Stock Exchange 
            11 Wall Street
            New York, NY

The Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic
Analysis play critical roles in producing timely and accurate data about
the nation's economy. The Census Bureau's economic programs include
current measures of economic activity and an economic census every five
years which provides more than 96 percent of the key source data used to
calculate the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Bureau of Economic
Analysis generates the national income and product accounts, including the
quarterly GDP report.

Video footage of the bell-ringing ceremony will be available to
television networks and local affiliates via fiber line starting at 9:25
a.m. EST (Fiber line: Waterfront #1630). Photographs of the event will be
available through the Associated Press and Bloomberg Photo.