FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2002

Media General Presents at Mid-Year Media Review

RICHMOND, Va. — Media General, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) executives J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer, Marshall N. Morton, vice chairman and chief financial officer, and Reid Ashe, president and chief operating officer, today updated investors on the company's business strategy, financial position and outlook for 2002 at the Mid-Year Media Review in New York.

"We are very pleased with the strong rebound in Broadcast revenues," said Bryan. "We are enjoying the benefits of Olympics and political advertising, and we have seen strength in many categories, especially automotive. Our performance is also the result of hard work on a number of fronts that is now paying off. Higher ratings have improved the competitive positions of many of our stations. We've improved our ability to manage and price our spot inventory. A dedicated ad rep effort in New York and Atlanta has increased national sales. On the local level, aggressive and focused sales strategies have resulted in higher shares from existing clients and new business," Bryan said. He added that the company expects revenues from political advertising in 2002 to be more than $16 million.

"Our revenue growth far exceeds that of the broadcast industry," said Bryan. "Through April of this year, industry total time sales increased 2%, while ours increased 7.3%. Industry National sales increased 4.5%, while ours increased 10.8%. Industry Local time sales increased 0.4%, compared to our gain of 5.2%.

"The Publishing business, on the other hand, remains soft, and the recovery has not occurred as quickly as we had hoped. Help-wanted advertising is still weak, although improved automotive and real estate advertising is partially offsetting the shortfalls. The retail and national categories were hardest hit in May, and their weakness appears to be continuing into June. We do not have a strong sense yet about the coming months," he said.

Bryan said newsprint prices remained under $400 per short ton in May and that the company had anticipated a price increase in July, but now believes one won't occur until the fall. Media General's Publishing Division continues to outperform industry averages for revenues and operating cash flow margin.

Results for the Interactive Media Division have improved from new revenue initiatives and lower equity investment losses. Year to date, revenues of $4.5 million are about 20% higher than last year.

Ashe provided an overview of the strategic priorities and recent accomplishments of the company's three operating divisions. He highlighted the Publishing Division's success with its clustering strategy, particularly from new cross-selling initiatives. He reported that Media General newspapers outperformed the industry results for daily and Sunday circulation for the most recent six-month period.

Ashe updated investors on the company's transition to digital television. "As of the May 1st FCC deadline, we had 13 stations broadcasting a digital signal at either full power or in the low power format. Eight stations have FCC approval to begin digital broadcasts later this year, as they replace or strengthen existing towers. Our five satellite stations have a waiver until 2006. By the end of this year, we expect to have invested $21 million in digital television. We believe it will take another $52 million to get all stations to full power by 2006," he said.

Ashe said the 2002 revenue goal for the Interactive Media Division is $13 million, excluding Media General Financial Services. He reported that classified liner upsells between the company's newspapers and its Web sites is the largest interactive revenue category. New interactive products and subscription services, such as games, are a key part of the company's growth strategy.

Morton updated investors on the company's financial position and its outlook for the full year 2002. He provided the following forecasts, compared to 2001:

Morton said capital expenditures for 2002 of $58.1 million are budgeted as follows:

"Before our press release on Monday, when we announced May revenues and updated second-quarter guidance, analyst earnings estimates for the full year 2002 ranged from $2.19 to $2.31 per share. Based on the current state of our business and on our current assumptions, we expect to perform better than the high end of the range. Morton said the company estimates operating cash flow of $207 million and free cash flow of $68 million for the year 2002.

He added that Media General's cost focus is strong and will remain so. "Compared to the end of the year 2000, our work force is down about 455 employees, or 5.5%. Even when the economy becomes more robust, we do not plan to restore positions or practices just because we used to have them. Projects that will increase audience and revenue, in a way that can be tracked and measured, will be funded to the extent that we determine prudent," said Morton.

"We have used much of our cash flow this year to reduce debt, and it is now about $716 million. Funds from operations have been augmented by a cash distribution from SP Newsprint and by favorable changes in working capital accounts. We plan to reduce debt to $700 million by the end of the year," Morton said.

"In addition to our credit facility and shelf, we have certain assets that can be redeployed for growth initiatives. Additional currency is available to us in the form of our 20% interest in the Denver Post, which could be sold; Kansas and Iowa television stations, which could be sold, or more likely, traded; and television stations in the Southeast that are not number one or number two in their market, which also could be sold or traded," he said.

Bryan concluded with the company's view of the FCC review of the newspaper-broadcast cross ownership rule. "Like most of you, we believe the repeal is long overdue. The rule does not preserve diversity of viewpoints, nor does it enhance local news and other programming. It has been our experience that television stations and newspapers, when co-owned, offer more and better news, information and service to their communities. The rule also is not needed to safeguard competition, and many studies demonstrate that cross-ownership does not harm local advertising prices," said Bryan.

In summary, Bryan told investors, "Media General is well positioned to grow and build shareholder value," Bryan concluded. "We are making excellent progress with our growth strategy of leveraging our Southeast focus, expanding clustering and convergence, and creating new interactive media products. We also are focused on aggressive expense management to generate good cash flow. We will continue to invest for the long term in human and capital resources. We will expand through internal growth and acquisitions, and we have the financial flexibility to finance future growth through cash flow, public bonds and bank credit."

A webcast and replay of Media General's presentation is available at www.mediageneral.com. The full text and slides will be available on the site by 5 p.m. on June 19.

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.

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.