FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 26, 2001

Media General Names Executives at The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA, Fla. — Media General has promoted Steve M. Weaver to president and publisher of The Tampa Tribune, the largest of the company's 25 daily newspapers. Weaver succeeds Reid Ashe, who became president and COO of Media General on July 1.

"I'm leaving The Tampa Tribune in extremely capable hands," Ashe said. "Steve is an outstanding leader with 21 years of experience in the newspaper industry."

Weaver joined the Tribune in January 2000 as vice president of sales and marketing. Before that, he was vice president of advertising and circulation at The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, where he progressed from circulation director to classified advertising director to advertising director. Weaver began his newspaper career at The Dallas Times Herald in 1980, and he later led the advertising and circulation divisions of the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera.

"We're fortunate to have someone of Steve's ability," said H. Graham Woodlief Jr., vice president of Media General and president of the Publishing Division. "His experience with convergence and background in marketing will be extremely important to the future of The Tampa Tribune."

The Tribune also promoted Gilbert C. Thelen to senior vice president and executive editor. Thelen joined the Tribune as vice president and executive editor in 1998. He was previously vice president and executive editor of The State, the daily newspaper in Columbia, S.C. Before that, he was vice president and editor of The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Each of these newspapers was highly acclaimed for exemplary journalism during Thelen's tenure with them.

"Gil has done a tremendous job of leading the Tribune's news operations for the past three years," Woodlief said. "He and the entire management team of The Tampa Tribune will provide strong support for Steve as he leads our largest newspaper."

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.