FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Jan. 7, 2002

Tampa News Organizations Increase Coverage Through Multimedia Partnership

RICHMOND, Va. & NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2002 — Media General and The New York Times Company announced today the partnership of converged news organizations in the Tampa Bay area. WFLA-TV News Channel 8, TBO.com, The Tampa Tribune, Hernando Today, Highlands Today, Sunbelt Newspapers and the Suncoast News, all owned by Media General, will partner with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, SNN-Channel 6 and heraldtribune.com, which are owned by The New York Times Company. The properties will collaborate in the areas of content sharing, cross promotion and co-sponsored events.

"This is a pioneering agreement," said Diane McFarlin, publisher of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "To the best of my knowledge, it's the first and only example of two separate multimedia operations collaborating across three platforms - print, TV and online."

The partnership will increase market coverage and diversify the demographics of both Tampa Bay area organizations. In addition it will broaden the multimedia range of the companies, which both are operating in fully converged capacities.

"Now viewers and readers can turn to one source for their news, advertising and entertainment, knowing they will find the most complete and comprehensive coverage in the Bay area," said Tampa Tribune Publisher Steve Weaver.

Media General newspapers already reach 1,063,000 readers in the Tampa Bay DMA each week, more than any other media company in the Tampa Bay area. The partnership with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune adds 258,000 readers.

WFLA-TV News Channel 8, an NBC affiliate, is rated the No. 1 television station in Florida. It has a 19 percent share of the available 6 p.m. viewer audience with an 8.1 percent rating. During a month's time the combined reach of the new multimedia partnership will be 91 percent of all adults in the Tampa Bay DMA.

"Through our combined resources the partners will be able to provide better and stronger journalism to their readers, viewers and online users, while continuing to provide new examples of innovation and leadership for the news industry," said WFLA-TV News Channel 8 News Director Forrest Carr.

"We believe readers and viewers will be the beneficiaries of our combined journalistic strength. They'll see more and better stories about their communities in print, on television and online," said Janet Weaver, executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

According to Kirk Read, general manager Tampa Bay Online (TBO.com), "We gain the benefit of each other's strong brand of local journalism, community relationships and multimedia experiences. The true beneficiary, however, will be our collective customer. We look forward to sharing the multimedia resources through a variety of community news and information channels."

The timing of the collaboration is considered strategic as a result of increased demand for news and information. According to Eric S. Land, president and general manager of WFLA-TV News Channel 8, "The partnership will create a unique opportunity for viewers, readers and users to have, at their fingertips, the `best of the best' in local journalism at a time when interest in local news is at an all-time high."

About New York Times Co.
The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), a leading media company with 2000 revenues of $3.5 billion, publishes The New York Times, The Boston Globe and 16 other newspapers; owns eight network-affiliated television stations and two New York radio stations; and has more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. In 2001 the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's list of America's Most Admired Companies. In October 2000 the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's survey of the Global Most Admired Companies. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

About Media General
Media General (NYSE: MEG) is an independent 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.