Primary responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the Company’s financial statements rests with Management. The financial statements report on Management’s stewardship of Company assets. They are prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and accordingly include amounts that are based on Management’s informed estimates and judgments. Nonfinancial information included in the annual report has also been prepared by Management and is consistent with the financial statements.

Media General, Inc., maintains an accounting system and related controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that there is proper authorization and accounting for all transactions, that financial records are reliable for preparing financial statements, and that assets are safeguarded against loss or unauthorized use. The system is supported by written policies and guidelines, a program of internal audit and the selection and training of qualified personnel. Based on work begun in early 1996 the Company implemented a new payroll and human resource management system at the beginning of 1997. Additionally, the Company is currently laying the groundwork for the implementation of a new comprehensive financial information system which will become fully operational at the beginning of the 1999 fiscal year.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, which is composed solely of outside directors, meets periodically with Management, internal auditors and the independent auditors to review their respective activities and the discharge of their responsibilities.

Media General operates under a strict Code of Ethics that all employees are required to follow without exception. The Code requires ethical standards in all of the Company’s relationships, including those with customers, suppliers and government agencies.

January 26, 1998

The Board of Directors and Stockholders,
Media General, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Media General, Inc., as of December 28, 1997, and December 29, 1996, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended December 28, 1997. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Media General, Inc., at December 28, 1997, and December 29, 1996, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended December 28, 1997, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.

January 26, 1998
Richmond, Virginia

Ernst & Young LLP

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