FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Media General Reports February Revenues and Updates First-Quarter Earnings Guidance

RICHMOND, Va. — Media General (NYSE: MEG) today reported revenues of $63.7 million for February 2002, up 0.8 percent from February 2001.

Publishing revenues decreased 3.5 percent from February of last year. Broadcast revenues increased 9.5 percent, and Interactive Media revenues were up 13.1 percent.

In the Publishing Division, classified revenues declined 10.1 percent from February 2001, the result of continued weakness in employment advertising. Help-wanted linage was down 51 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal, 34 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and 40 percent at The Tampa Tribune.

Retail revenues were down 1.4 percent across the division with shortfalls at The Tampa Tribune partially offset by strong performances at several community newspaper clusters. National advertising sales increased 8.1 percent, primarily due to gains at The Tampa Tribune, while preprint revenues grew 6.9 percent on solid volumes in most markets. Adjusting for the change to independent carriers at The Tampa Tribune, circulation revenues were down 1.8 percent.

In the Broadcast Division, gross television time sales increased 13.6 percent from the same month last year. Local advertising was up 15.3 percent, and national advertising increased 9.7 percent. The Division benefited from strong Olympic and automotive advertising in February. Other solid categories for the month were services, corporate, specialty stores and telecommunications.

In the Interactive Media Division, revenue growth came primarily from upselling classified advertising from newspapers onto their respective Web sites. Another source of growth in February was local sponsorship of Web site features.

"Media General is encouraged by these results," said J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer. "In our Publishing business, while employment advertising is still down considerably, other categories seem to be improving. Our Publishing Division revenue decline in February was the smallest since July 2001. In the Broadcast Division, much, but not all, of the improvement in February was due to the Olympics. We believe we are starting to see a recovery in local and national spot business in our broadcast markets. In addition to the revenues improvement, we continue to restrain our spending. As a result of our improved outlook, we now expect first-quarter earnings per share to be in the area of 20 cents, compared to our previous estimate of less than 10 cents per share."

The company adopted SFAS 142 at the beginning of this fiscal year. In addition to discontinuing a major portion of annual intangibles amortization, the adoption of this accounting standard requires companies to reassess the value of existing goodwill and identified intangibles, such as FCC licenses, to ensure that their value has not been impaired. Based on the company's current understanding, and the situation is still evolving with the FASB and SEC, Media General may write down the value of some existing intangibles to reflect the lower current level of cash flows generated by some of its recently acquired broadcast properties. This would take the form of a cumulative accounting catch up and would not be part of ongoing earnings.

For the year 2001, had SFAS 142 been in effect, amortization expense would have been lower by $43 million to $49 million and the after-tax effect would have been at least $1.35 per share.

About Media General
Media General 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.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties and should be understood in the context of the company's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Media General's future performance could differ materially from its current expectations.

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Revenue Report
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