FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 22, 2001

Media General's Publishing Division Taps Alan Davis to Lead Community Newspapers in Alabama and Florida

DOTHAN, Ala. — The Publishing Division of Media General has named Alan Davis vice president and regional publisher for several community newspapers in Alabama and Florida. He previously served these newspapers as vice president of sales and marketing.

In his new capacity as the region's top executive, Davis will be responsible for Media General's daily and weekly newspapers in the Dothan, Enterprise, and Opelika-Auburn markets of Alabama. He also will oversee the Jackson County Floridan, a daily newspaper in Marianna, Fla.

As part of Davis' appointment, a new position has been created to better serve the Dothan-Enterprise communities. A search is underway for a publisher-editor of The Dothan Eagle, the hub newspaper for Media General's Southeast Alabama markets.

"Alan Davis' proven record as an innovator and inspiring leader makes him an excellent match for this new role," said Thomas A. Silvestri, a vice president in Media General's Publishing Division. "All of our papers in the group will benefit from his ideas, hard work and competitive nature."

Davis began his newspaper career in Selma, Ala., in 1974. He formerly worked for the Boone Newspapers as a photographer, camera operator, pressman, production manager and general manager. He joined The Auburn Bulletin in 1984 and partnered with his father to buy the weekly newspaper in 1988. After Thomson Corp. purchased that newspaper, he became regional advertising director in 1997 for the The Auburn Bulletin and the Opelika-Auburn News.

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.