FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 15, 2005

Media General Reports August Revenues; Provides Third-Quarter Earnings Guidance

RICHMOND, Va. – Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported total revenues for August 2005 of $69.1 million, a decline of $766,000, or 1.1 percent, from August 2004. On a divisional basis, Publishing revenues increased 2.9 percent, Broadcast revenues declined 9.3 percent, and Interactive Media Division revenues rose 52.3 percent.

“In our Publishing business, we were pleased that newspaper advertising revenues grew 4.5 percent,” said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer. “This growth reflected higher Classified advertising revenues, while Retail and Circulation revenues declined compared to last August, and National advertising was about even. On the Broadcast side, a 9.1 percent increase in Local advertising revenues could not offset lower Political and National advertising revenues,” said Morton. The August 2004 period included $3.5 million from Political advertising revenues and $5 million from Summer Olympics advertising.

“We are proud that our Publishing and Broadcast divisions continue to be among the top performers in their respective industries for revenue growth. At the same time, we are disappointed that overall business conditions have weakened in the past few months,” said Morton.

“Publishing’s rate of revenue growth in July and August was lower than expected, mostly because of reduced advertiser spending in the Retail category. While we expected Broadcast revenues to be down somewhat in the face of difficult comparisons to last year’s strong Political and Olympics spending, a very weak National advertising market is driving greater declines than expected. Several Media General television stations have experienced revenue losses and higher news coverage expenses related to hurricanes Dennis, Katrina and Ophelia, and the recent jump in energy prices has significantly affected Media General and SP Newsprint operations. As a result of all these factors, our earnings expectations for the third quarter are significantly lower now than they were a month ago,” said Morton. Details regarding the company’s third-quarter expectations are provided in the Outlook section below.

For the month of August, newspaper advertising revenues increased $1.6 million, or 4.5 percent, compared to August 2004. Including revenues from the company’s newspaper Web sites, newspaper advertising revenues rose 5.1 percent for the month and Publishing revenues increased 3.4 percent.

Classified revenues increased $1.8 million, or 11.8 percent, despite weak automotive advertising. Total Classified advertising increased 22.3 percent at The Tampa Tribune compared to last August when Hurricane Charley caused a significant reduction in Classified, especially help-wanted. The Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Winston-Salem Journal were up 4.7 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. The company’s Community newspapers improved 5.2 percent. Including online advertising, Classified revenues increased 13.4 percent overall in August.

At the company’s three metro newspapers, employment linage increased 15.7 percent, including growth of 33.1 percent at The Tampa Tribune, 7.7 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and 5.8 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal. Real estate linage increased nearly 32 percent for the three markets, while automotive linage was down 13.4 percent.

Retail revenues declined $320,000, or 1.9 percent. The Tampa Tribune reported a 3.5 percent decrease. Retail revenues at the Richmond Times-Dispatch declined 1.8 percent and the Winston-Salem Journal was down 6.1 percent. These declines were due to various categories, especially department stores and furniture. Retail advertising at the Community newspapers declined 2.2 percent.

National revenues were even with last year. The Tampa Tribune reported a 3.5 percent decrease, the Winston-Salem Journal was up 6.3 percent, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch was about even with last August.

Due primarily to a change in wholesale rates to independent carriers, for which there was a corresponding expense decrease, circulation revenues were $370,000, or 5.6 percent below last year. While some Media General newspapers experienced circulation volume declines in August, six newspapers reported Daily circulation volume growth and seven did so for Sunday.

In the Broadcast Division, gross time sales declined $3.5 million, or 13.2 percent, mostly due to a sharp decline in Political spot sales in this off-election year. Local time sales grew by $1.3 million, or 9.1 percent, driven by new business development initiatives. Gains in the financial, fast food, service, and health care categories more than offset declines in the automotive and grocery store categories.

National time sales declined $1.5 million, or 16.4 percent, mostly due to lower spending levels in the automotive, telecommunications, financial and fast food categories.

Political revenues of $140,000 mostly reflected advertising spending in a local election in Mobile, Ala., and compared with revenues of $3.5 million in August 2004.

Interactive Media Division revenues rose 52.3 percent to $1.7 million. This growth was driven by a 57.3 percent increase in Classified advertising and a 15.3 percent increase in Local advertising.

Outlook
Media General expects Publishing revenue growth in the third quarter of 2005 of approximately 3 percent, compared with its previous outlook of 5 to 6 percent growth as of July 12. Broadcast time sales for the quarter are expected to be 4 to 4.5 percent below last year, compared with the previous outlook of 1 to 1.5 percent below last year. During the first two months of the third quarter, Publishing revenue growth has softened, primarily due to lower Retail advertising, especially in the Richmond and Winston-Salem markets. In Broadcast, an already soft National advertising market has been exacerbated by a significant decline in automotive spending, as well as lower spending in the telecommunications, financial and fast food categories. In the third quarter of 2004, Media General’s Political revenues were $8.5 million.

In addition to sharply higher energy costs, certain other expenses are higher than expected, including new business development initiatives, the launch of new Spanish-language products in Tampa, and wall-to-wall news coverage during the hurricanes. Media General, which is providing third-quarter 2005 earnings guidance for the first time, expects earnings per share for the period to be in the range of 38 to 41 cents. The company earned 66 cents per share in the 2004 third quarter.

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 a diversified communications company operating leading newspapers, television stations and online enterprises, primarily in the Southeastern United States. The company’s publishing assets include three metropolitan newspapers, The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal; 22 daily community newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina; and more than 100 weekly newspapers and other publications. The company’s broadcasting assets include 26 network-affiliated television stations that 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 assets include more than 50 online enterprises that are associated with its newspapers and television stations. Media General also owns a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Company.

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

Media Contact:
Ray Kozakewicz
(804) 649-6748

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