FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001

Media General Reports July Revenues

RICHMOND, Va. — Media General (AMEX: MEG.A) today reported revenues of $72.1 million for July 2001, up 1.7 percent from $70.8 million in July 2000. Excluding newspaper acquisitions and divestitures, revenues declined 3.7 percent.

Publishing revenues exceeded the prior-year month by 5 percent. Excluding acquisitions and divestitures, Publishing revenues were down 3 percent. Broadcast revenues decreased 4.7 percent, while Interactive Media revenues increased 11.7 percent.

“Revenues in our Publishing and Broadcast divisions continue to reflect a severe advertising recession,” said J. Stewart Bryan III, Media General's chairman and chief executive. “To offset these shortfalls, we will continue to hold expenses at reduced levels through the end of the year.”

In the Publishing Division, excluding acquisitions and divestitures, classified revenue declined 7.7 percent from July 2000 due to weak employment linage. Help-wanted linage was down 47 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal, 31 percent at The Tampa Tribune and 38 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which also experienced a 26 percent decline in automotive linage.

Excluding acquisitions and divestitures, national advertising revenue decreased 1.3 percent because of weak telecommunications spending, and preprint revenue dropped 1 percent as The Tampa Tribune saw shortfalls in nearly all preprint categories. Retail revenue for the month increased 2.9 percent on the strength of one-time advertising related to First Union's acquisition of Wachovia. Most other retail advertising categories were down from July 2000.

Excluding acquisitions and divestitures, circulation revenue was up slightly.

Gross television time sales declined 13.3 percent from the same month last year, with local advertising down 5 percent and national advertising down 18 percent. Both local and national decreases reflect continuing weakness in the automotive, telecommunications and fast-food categories.

In the Interactive Media Division, an up-sell arrangement between TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune attracted strong new classified revenue.

About Media General
Media General is an independent, publicly owned communications company situated primarily in the Southeast with interests in newspapers, television stations, interactive media and diversified information services. The company's publishing assets include The Tampa Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem Journal and 22 other daily newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, as well as nearly 100 other periodicals and a 20 percent interest in The Denver Post. Media General's 26 network-affiliated television stations reach more than 30 percent of the television households in the Southeast, and nearly 8 percent of those in the United States. The company's extensive interactive media offerings include more than 50 online enterprises. Media General also has a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Co., which operates newsprint mills in Dublin, Ga., and Newberg, Ore.

Statistical charts follow:
Revenue Report
Ad Linage Report

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