FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 23, 2003

Media General Shareholders Elect Directors at Annual Meeting

Richmond, Va. – Media General (NYSE: MEG) shareholders today elected nine directors, including one new director, C. Boyden Gray, to one-year terms at the company's annual meeting. Two directors, Robert V. Hatcher and John G. Medlin, Jr., retired effective today.

Gray, 60, is a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. From 1989 to 1993, he served as counsel to President George H. W. Bush.

Shareholders re-elected J. Stewart Bryan III, O. Reid Ashe Jr., Charles A. Davis, 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 the company's performance in 2002, highlighting revenue and profit increases in the Broadcast division, aggressive cost control in Publishing, and rapid growth in Interactive Media. Bryan discussed the company's strategies for convergence, which distributes news and information across multiple platforms, and clustering, which allows newspapers to share resources.

Bryan said Media General is confident that the Federal Communications Commission will significantly modify its 28-year ban on ownership of a newspaper and television station in the same media market on June 2. Citing the company's experience in Tampa, where Media General runs the nation's most advanced converged news center, and academic research, Bryan said that common ownership serves local communities better. "The combined resources of both platforms can provide faster and higher quality local news to the community," said Bryan.

Bryan also said that following the FCC rule change, the company would likely swap and purchase newspapers and broadcast stations in support of its Southeast growth strategy.

Reid Ashe, president and chief operating officer, provided details of company performance during 2002. The Publishing division reversed declining circulation trends at many papers by focusing on four cornerstones of readership: content, service, brand and culture. Redesigns and growth plans based on these cornerstones contributed to total circulation gains of more than 4 percent daily and 2 percent Sunday for the period ended March 31, 2003, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. The Tampa Tribune and other Media General newspapers in Florida, Virginia and North Carolina were among the fastest growing in the country, Ashe noted.

Ashe attributed the Broadcast division's revenue growth, which exceeded the industry average, to several factors, including high-quality local news programming, consolidated sales processing and inventory control, cutting-edge sales training, and innovative promotions.

Ashe also reported significant progress in the Interactive Media Division. In 2002, page views increased 32 percent and revenue from classified advertising products doubled over 2001. He described some of the new products that will help the division reach its $15 million revenue goal for 2003. These include new interactive games, some of which will be distributed on interactive cable TV as a result of Media General's recent investment in the Buzztime channel.

"We believe all three divisions are well positioned to continue to grow audience share, generate new revenues, and increase profitability over the long term," said Ashe.

Marshall Morton, vice chairman and chief financial officer, described the company's financial position. He reported that capital spending plans for 2003 of $49 million will support necessary replacement projects.

Morton said that total debt stands at approximately $600 million, constituting 36 percent of total capital. "We are committed to maintaining strong public debt ratings through maintenance of a balanced relationship between debt service and operating cash flow," Morton said.

The annual meeting concluded with a summary by Bryan of Media General's strengths, including its regional focus, diversification across media, disciplined financial management, depth of leadership team, and the financial flexibility to pursue growth. "Media General is ready to benefit from a modification of the FCC's cross-ownership rules and an economic recovery, including a rebound in advertising revenues," he said.

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.

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