FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Media General Reports January Revenues

RICHMOND, Va. – Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported January 2004 revenues of $74.9 million, an increase of 7.7 percent from revenues of $69.5 million in January 2003. Publishing revenues increased 3.2 percent, Broadcast revenues increased 16.6 percent, and Interactive Media revenues were up 39.4 percent.

“Our January revenue growth primarily reflects an excellent month for our Broadcast Division. Media General television stations benefited from higher political revenues in states that held presidential primaries and from robust Super Bowl advertising at our 16 CBS affiliates,” said J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer. “In addition, publishing revenues were higher than last year in all categories but retail.”

“Media General is pleased that the momentum we enjoyed as we ended 2003 continued through January,” said Bryan. “At the end of 2003, we were well above the industry average for revenue growth in both our Publishing and Broadcast businesses. In Publishing, we were number two in our peer group for growth in total revenues and circulation revenues for the year. In Broadcast, we finished the year ahead of the industry average in every category in the month of December.”

In the Publishing Division, January 2004 advertising revenue was $1.3 million, or 3.5 percent, above the prior year. If print and online publishing revenues were reported on a combined basis, as some peer companies report, total publishing revenues and newspaper advertising revenues would have been up 3.6 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, from last year's January levels.

Classified revenue was above the prior year by $970,000, or 6.4 percent. Employment linage at the three metropolitan newspapers was 12.4 percent above last year, but was partially offset by automotive linage that was 0.5 percent below last year. Help wanted linage at The Richmond Times-Dispatch was above last year by nearly 26 percent, and Richmond also experienced strong automotive classified advertising. Help wanted linage increased 9.1 percent at The Tampa Tribune, but decreased 8.8 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal.

Retail revenue declined $560,000, or 4.9 percent, from last year, the result of soft department store advertising in the metropolitan and several community newspaper markets. In addition, retail revenues were down at The Tampa Tribune as a result of last year’s Super Bowl advertising that did not repeat this year. Media General’s Tampa market enjoyed significant advertising in January 2003 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl. Total preprint revenues increased $140,000, or 2.1 percent. Almost all of the increase occurred at community newspapers due to volume increases. Retail ROP and retail preprints combined declined $460,000, or 2.7 percent, for the month.

National revenue exceeded last year by $200,000, or 7.3 percent, due primarily to gains in the Richmond market, especially in the telecommunications category. Circulation revenue increased $200,000 or 2.4 percent. The Richmond Times-Dispatch saw the largest gain due to a rate increase in late 2003.

In the Broadcast Division, gross time sales increased 21.2 percent. Local time sales increased 15.1 percent, driven by advertiser spending increases in the automotive, financial, furniture and telecommunications categories. National time sales increased 14.5 percent, reflecting higher spending in the automotive, telecommunications and financial categories. Political revenues were $1.5 million compared with $105,000 last year. The increase reflects presidential primary spending, a hotly contested congressional race in Kentucky, and issue spending in Florida. Presidential campaign spending was somewhat weaker than expected in South Carolina and Tennessee, but was reasonably strong in Iowa.

December 2003 total times sales for Media General stations increased 2.3 percent, compared to an industry increase of 0.4 percent, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. For local time sales, Media General was up 4.5 percent, compared to an industry increase of 4 percent. For national time sales, Media General declined 1.7 percent, much less than the industry decrease of 5.6 percent. December is the latest TVB reporting period.

In the Interactive Media Division, a nearly 40 percent growth in revenues was primarily due to increases in online classified advertising. National advertising also improved substantially year over year.

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 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.

Investor Contact:
Lou Anne Nabhan
(804) 649-6103

Media Contact:
Ray Kozakewicz
(804) 649-6748

Charts follow:
Revenue Report
Ad Linage Summaries

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