FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Media General Reports October Revenues, Updates Earnings Guidance

RICHMOND, Va. – Reflecting the relative absence of political advertising revenues in its Broadcast Division, partially offset by otherwise strong results in that division and in its Publishing and Interactive Media divisions, Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported October 2003 total revenues of
$86.1 million, a decrease of 5.8 percent from October 2002. By operating segment, Publishing revenues increased 4.9 percent, Broadcast revenues declined 21.2 percent, and Interactive Media revenues were up 51 percent.

“For the Publishing Division, growth rates for total revenue and advertising revenue, which increased 4.9 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, were the strongest of any month in 2003,” said J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer. “The classified, national and preprint categories all experienced robust increases. Advertising revenues increased at The Tampa Tribune by 8 percent and at the Richmond Times-Dispatch by 7 percent, and many community newspapers were up strongly as well.

“The Broadcast Division delivered another solid performance in October, partially offsetting lower political revenues with double-digit increases in local and national advertising revenues. Our outlook for Broadcast, especially for the month of November, is cautious because we have seen weaker than anticipated spot orders, particularly from retail accounts, and it’s still too early to be definitive about December,” said Bryan. “We are pleased to note that our Interactive Media Division surpassed the $1 million mark in monthly revenues for the first time since its inception in January 2001.”

In Publishing, the Classified category realized one of its strongest monthly increases of the year, finishing $830,000, or 5 percent above last October. For the first time this year, employment linage for the company’s three largest newspapers was above last year and, in the aggregate, increased 22.4 percent. This increase was partially offset by automotive linage that was below last year by 1.2 percent. The Tampa Tribune led the month with employment linage that was above last year by 33.6 percent, principally the result of selling multi-part packages. Employment linage increased at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Winston-Salem Journal by 18.5 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

Retail revenue was even with last year. The Richmond Times-Dispatch, benefiting from the opening of two new upscale malls in September, reported the best retail results, up 4.7 percent from a year ago. Despite Richmond’s gains, cutbacks by major department stores dominated the retail category for other newspapers. Preprint revenue, on the other hand, increased $900,000, or 11.9 percent.

National advertising revenue was ahead of last October by $490,000, or 15.3 percent, the largest percentage increase of any month this year. The increase was attributable to gains in Tampa and Richmond, mostly driven by strong telecommunications advertising. Circulation revenue was up 0.5 percent over last year, the result of volume and price increases.

Broadcast gross time sales decreased $10.4 million, or 25.9 percent. Political revenues were $2.1 million compared with $16.2 million last year. This $14.1 million decrease in political revenues was partially offset by strong increases in local and national time sales. Local time sales increased $2.4 million, or 15.9 percent. National time sales increased $1.4 million, or 15.6 percent.

Automotive advertising spending remained robust both at the local and national level, as car manufacturers, new car dealerships and local dealer association groups continued to promote their vehicles. Strong gains also occurred in the fast food, telecommunications, furniture and services categories. Political revenues were mostly from campaign spending for the Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi gubernatorial races, mayoral races in Savannah and Charleston, and issue spending in Florida.

Interactive Media revenue growth was driven by strong classified and national business in the company’s three largest newspaper markets.

Outlook
For the fourth quarter of 2003, Media General expects earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of 93 cents to 96 cents. For the full-year, Media General expects earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $2.44 to $2.47. These full-year amounts from continuing operations exclude 4 cents per share for operations of Media General Financial Services prior to its sale, as well as a gain of approximately 29 cents per share on that sale that will be recorded in the fourth quarter, and a charge of 34 cents per share related to the adoption of FIN 46 that was recorded in the third quarter.

The following table provides a GAAP summary of the company’s actual and estimated performance for each quarter of 2003 and full-year 2003:

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 and interactive media. 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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