FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 24, 2002

Media General Shareholders Elect Directors at Annual Meeting

RICHMOND, Va. — Media General (NYSE: MEG) shareholders today elected 10 directors, including one new director, Reid Ashe, Media General's president and chief operating officer, to one-year terms at the company's annual meeting.

Ashe, 53, was president and publisher of The Tampa Tribune, Media General's largest newspaper, prior to election to his present position effective July 1, 2001. He joined Media General in 1996 as president and associate publisher of The Tampa Tribune and became publisher at the beginning of 1997. Prior to that he had been president and publisher of The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle since 1987.

Shareholders re-elected J. Stewart Bryan III, Charles A. Davis, Robert V. Hatcher Jr., John G. Medlin Jr., Marshall N. Morton, Thompson L. Rankin, Wyndham Robertson, Henry L. Valentine II and Walter E. Williams.

Media General executives reported on the state of the company and its key accomplishments. Stewart Bryan, chairman and chief executive, summarized actions the company has taken to counter the adverse market conditions of 2001 that continued into this year, including cost reductions and restrained capital spending. He gave shareholders an overview of the company's strategy to focus on the Southeastern United States. "Our regional strategy enables us to create content of common interest throughout the region," Bryan said. "We are able to use resources - both human and material assets - more effectively. And we are able to sell across various markets and media, which can strengthen revenues substantially." He highlighted the company's strategies for newspaper clustering and convergence as prime examples of the benefits of its regional focus. "Convergence enhances product quality, which, in turn, brings new revenues," Bryan said.

Cross-selling advertising within and among the company's newspaper clusters is a major focus of the Publishing Division's strategy, Ashe reported. "We introduced the concept last August in North Carolina across five daily newspapers and several other publications. Our North Carolina cluster is enjoying about a 5 percent revenue lift at virtually no additional cost."

Overall, the Publishing Division "continues to be well above industry averages for revenue growth, operating income and cash-flow margins," Ashe said.

The Broadcast Division also has made excellent progress. "Ratings, revenue and margins are up for all but a few stations," Ashe said. "Twenty-one of our stations are No. 1 or No. 2 in their markets from sign-on to sign-off, and ratings growth has translated into increased revenue share."

The division also is benefiting from several initiatives that began in 2001, including a centralized traffic operation in Tampa that helps manage inventories more efficiently. The Broadcast Division consolidated its national sales representation under one company with dedicated teams in Atlanta and New York. Aggressive local sales initiatives attracted new accounts and garnered higher shares from existing accounts. As a result of these efforts, through March, Media General's time sales increased 7.3 percent, compared with an industry average of 3.2 percent, according to Ashe.

He also reported on the successful startup of Media General's Interactive Media Division in 2001. "Our revenue goal for this year is $13 million, with the largest share coming from up-selling classified ads from our newspapers onto our Web sites," he said. "Local banner and sponsorship ads are contributing to revenue growth, and we're introducing other new online products, as well."

Marshall Morton, vice chairman and chief financial officer, reviewed the company's financial flexibility, which will support future growth. He noted that operating results improved in the first quarter of 2002. "Looking forward, we do remain cautious about our Publishing business. From a revenue perspective, January was the weakest month this year, down about 10 percent. February, March and April held fairly steady, at around minus 3.5 percent, compared with the same months last year. Classified advertising continues to be weak in the employment category, but it is showing improvement. And some retail advertisers continue to hold back schedules in some markets. In our Broadcast business, the momentum continues. Second-quarter revenues are pacing about 12 percent ahead of last year. Higher political spending this year will also provide a boost."

Bryan concluded the report with an overview of Media General's active participation in the Federal Communications Commission's review of the rule banning ownership of a newspaper and a television station in the same market.

"Our concern is that to reach a compromise, the commission may draw an artificial line and drop the ban in only the top 30 or top 50 markets. That would not address our conviction that the ban must be dropped totally," Bryan said. "Our television stations operate mainly in small- and medium-sized markets - places where local news is already going off the air because of the high cost of delivering the product. We believe that one of the best ways to assure the future of local news is to allow companies to practice good journalism across several platforms."

Management's report to shareholders and a new video on the company's success with convergence are available at www.mediageneral.com.

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.