FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2002

Media General Reports July Revenues

RICHMOND, Va. – Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported July 2002 revenues of $72.2 million, up 0.2 percent from $72.1 million in July 2001. Publishing revenues declined 5.4 percent from last July, Broadcast revenues increased 11.2 percent, and Interactive Media revenues grew 26.2 percent.

"The $2.6 million decline in Publishing revenues was heavily influenced by the absence of $1.3 million of advertising related to the Wachovia proxy battle in July 2001. Without the Wachovia proxy advertising, total revenue would have declined only 2.8 percent, which would be the smallest decline from last year for 2002, and represents directional improvement over our May and June declines of 4.2 percent," said J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer.

Publishing advertising revenues declined 6 percent. Impacted by the Wachovia proxy battle, Retail revenue was below last year by $1.9 million, or 14 percent. The remainder of the decline was primarily attributable to soft financial advertising in Richmond and Tampa. "Media General continues to see major retail advertisers holding back on their schedules," said Bryan.

Classified revenue was below last year by $900,000, or 5.2 percent. Help-wanted linage decreased 29.6 percent at The Tampa Tribune and 20.9 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, but increased 4.2 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal. "After running several months at or close to prior-year levels, this shortfall was unexpected," said Bryan. "All of the shortfall occurred in Tampa and Richmond, and strong automotive linage was not enough to offset these losses," he said.

National revenue was below last year by $240,000, or 9.5 percent; $100,000 of the decline occurred at the Winston-Salem Journal due to the absence of Wachovia proxy advertising. National revenue increased at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and declined at The Tampa Tribune as a result of reduced advertising in the travel and entertainment category. Preprint revenue was 6.8 percent ahead of last year. Circulation revenue was down 2.2 percent, all attributable to declines at The Tampa Tribune and Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In the Broadcast Division, gross time sales increased 19.9 percent compared to last July. This increase reflects growth in automotive, political and services advertising. Automotive advertising increased 18 percent over year-ago levels.

Local time sales increased 8.7 percent, with gains in the automotive, services, specialty stores, grocery and transportation sectors. National time sales rose 18.6 percent, with strength in the automotive, corporate, entertainment and telecommunications sectors.

Political revenues were $1.6 million, compared to $102,000 in July 2001, driven primarily by gubernatorial and issue spending in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Interactive Media revenue continued to grow both through classified up-selling arrangements with Media General newspapers and from the introduction of new products.

"In our Publishing business, unfortunately there is nothing on the horizon that predicts improvement from current levels. Broadcast, on the other hand, is clearly a much better story. For the third quarter, we estimate a 20 percent revenue improvement from last year, with political representing 25 to 30 percent of the gain. We still have plenty of ad slots, and we're selling them at healthy rates," said Bryan.

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.

Charts follow:
Revenue Report
Ad Linage Summaries

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