FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Media General Presents at Mid-Year Media Review

RICHMOND , Va. — Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) executives today updated investors on the company’s business strategy and outlook for the rest of 2004 at the Mid-Year Media Review in New York.

J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer, provided an overview of the company’s strategy. Media General is a multimedia company with excellent local journalism as its core strength. Bryan described the company’s regional focus in the southeastern United States, where growth has been stronger than the national average. He also discussed the company’s strategies for clustering and convergence.

Bryan said, “Media General entered 2004 in a strong position. Our Publishing Division finished 2003 a strong second for revenue growth among its newspaper peers and also second in circulation revenue growth. Our Broadcast Division performed above its industry average for 2003.”

He said for 2004 to date, the Publishing Division has continued to perform in the top half of its peers for revenue growth and the Broadcast Division has continued to outperform its industry for total, local and national sales.

“The company has produced strong bottom line growth in 2004 as well, Bryan said. “For the first quarter, we earned 38 cents per share, a nearly 30 percent increase over last year’s first quarter. Publishing profits increased 10 percent, despite higher newsprint costs, and reflected advertising revenue growth, particularly in the Classified category. Broadcast segment profits increased nearly 60 percent. For the Interactive Media Division, recurring operations, excluding the Hoover’s gain, improved by 4.4 percent.

Commenting on the FCC’s cross-ownership rules, he said, “We’re closely monitoring the review by an appeals court of the FCC’s new rules on common ownership of newspapers and television stations. We believe the changes that were announced by the FCC last June ultimately will be implemented. When they are, we look forward to executing our convergence strategy in more Southeastern markets.”

Reid Ashe, president and chief operating officer, provided an overview of the 2004 performance to date of the company’s three operating divisions, Publishing, Broadcast and Interactive Media.

He reviewed year-to-date publishing revenue, noting that total revenues have increased 4 percent and newspaper advertising revenues have increased 4.2 percent. “Classified advertising is the main driver behind our growth,” Ashe said. “While our year-over-year growth has been solid overall, it has not been as strong as we had hoped, especially in the Retail, National and Preprint categories.” Classified advertising revenues have increased 8.7 percent year-to-date, and they are running about 2 percent ahead of Media General’s expectations. This growth has been driven primarily by gains in employment linage.

“The Retail advertising category remains a challenge for the industry because of reduced schedules by department stores,” Ashe said. “May was our best month this year with retail ROP advertising revenues up 3.4 percent.”

Ashe said that Media General has experienced strong circulation growth. “Circulation revenues year-to-date have increased 3.4 percent, the result of rate increases in many markets in late 2003 and improved net paid circulation in some markets.”

He said for the March and September 2003 Audit Bureau of Circulation FAS-FAX reports, the company also had higher growth in net paid circulation compared to the industry. “Our growth in the March and September 2003 reporting periods reflects two primary factors. One is a readership initiative that we implemented in early 2002 across all newspapers, and the second was the success of our growth plan at The Tampa Tribune, implemented in the fall of 2002.” The Tampa Tribune is among the fastest-growing major metropolitan newspapers in the country.

In the Broadcast business, year-to-date total revenues have increased 9.9 percent and time sales have increased approximately 12 percent. Local time sales have increased 8.3 percent and national time sales have increased 4.3 percent. “Year-over-year revenue growth has been strong, paced by political advertising,” Ashe said. Year-to-date political revenues are $6.7 million, compared with $1.1 million last year. “We think 2004 political revenues will be higher than the last presidential year, 2000, but not as robust as 2002,” he said.

In the Interactive Media Division, there have been strong revenue increases every month this year, driven primarily by growth in online classified advertising. “Total revenues have grown from about $2.5 million in 2000 to more than $10 million in 2003.” Classified advertising continues to compose the largest share of online revenues.

2004 Financial Outlook
Marshall N. Morton, vice chairman and chief financial officer, presented the company’s outlook for the rest of 2004 and updated investors on the company’s financial position. Morton reaffirmed the second quarter earnings guidance provided by Media General on June 16, 2004. “We expect earnings per share to be lower than 85 cents, but it is difficult to be more definitive without June’s results in hand,” he said. Media General will release its earnings on July 13.

Morton provided the following forecasts for the year 2004, compared to 2003.

Total revenues and newspaper advertising are expected to increase 4-5 percent, unchanged since the forecast provided at Media Week in December 2003. “Classified revenues should be 6-8 percent higher, driven by employment classified advertising,” Morton said. Retail and Preprint revenues each are forecast to increase about 1.5-2 percent, and national revenue is expected to be even. Circulation revenues are expected to be up 3-4 percent. Publishing expenses will increase about 5 percent for 2004. Salaries and benefits will increase approximately 2 percent and 13 percent, respectively, reflecting merit increases and increased retirement and health care costs. For 2004, newsprint is now expected to increase about 15 percent, which is somewhat lower than previously estimated since a February increase has settled at about $35-metric ton price. A $50 increase had been budgeted to take full effect in March. “We now expect prices will be below that level for at least the second quarter and most of the third, but we anticipate that newsprint vendors will try for another increase in August or September,” he said.

Publishing segment profits, which include the company’s 20-percent ownership of The Denver Post, are forecast to increase a little more than 1 percent.

In the Broadcast Division, solid revenue growth of 11-13 percent and a total time sales increase of about 13 percent are expected in 2004. Sales targets include an 8-9 percent growth in local billings and 5 percent rise in national billings. “Our outlook for Political revenues has increased from $19 million to $24 million,” Morton said. Total Broadcast expenses are budgeted to increase about 5 percent. Salary costs are expected to increase about 7 percent, and benefits approximately 17 percent. Other departmental costs will increase by about 4 percent for expanded weather graphics, news production costs and higher Nielsen rating fees. “Segment operating profit for the division is expected to increase by approximately 35 percent,” Morton said.

Interactive Media Division’s revenues in 2004 are expected to exceed $13 million, a more than 40-percent increase over 2003. “The division will continue to manage expenses, while investing at levels that will fuel long-term growth,” Morton said. Expenses are forecast to be approximately $20 million, mostly for staff and technology. The operating cash deficit should be in the range of $4-$5 million.

Media General gave the following estimates for unallocated consolidated items:

Morton noted that a $4 million, or 11 percent, decrease in interest expense in 2004 is due to a lower all-in interest rate and declining debt levels. A $3 million, or 9 percent, increase in corporate expense is mainly due to higher employee benefit expense, a full year of VIE depreciation and information technology enhancements. SP Newsprint’s earnings are expected to improve from a loss of $5.4 million to income of approximately $4.7 million, primarily the result of newsprint price increases. Income tax rates will go up slightly, from 36.5 percent to 37 percent, primarily resulting from a higher effective state tax rate.

Capital spending in 2004 is expected to be about $70 million, down from the company’s forecast of $85 million last December. “This year’s spending is higher than recent years, which has averaged about $35 million, except for 2001, when we initiated significant digital TV spending.” In 2004, Publishing will spend about $39 million, including investments to start construction on new printing facilities. Broadcast plans to spend about $26 million, and Interactive Media about $2.8 million, with corporate expenditures budgeted at $2.5 million.

The company’s debt at the end of May was approximately $613 million, constituting 35 percent of total capital.

The company’s earnings outlook for the full year has not changed significantly from last December. Media General expects net income for the year 2004 to be in the range of $73-$75 million and earnings per share for the year to be in the range of $3.08 to $3.16. EBITDA is expected to be about $214-$216 million, after-tax cash flow about $141-$143 million and free cash flow about $70-$72 million.

Bryan summarized Media General’s outlook. The company is benefiting from a gradual economic recovery and has demonstrated an ability to perform above the industry averages in Publishing and Broadcast. Also, the company has disciplined expense management and is a net beneficiary of higher newsprint pricing as it relates to the company’s ownership of SP Newsprint. “We believe the new FCC rules will enable us to pursue future investments that would advance our strategies of Southeast Focus and Convergence. Finally, and most importantly, we remain committed to building shareholder value,” he concluded.

The full text and slides from the presentation are available in the Investor Relations section of Media General’s Web site, www.mediageneral.com. An audio replay will be available at approximately 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 and will remain available for 30 days. Click on the link on the Media General Home Page.

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.

Media General provides the non-GAAP financial metrics EBITDA, After-Tax Cash Flow, and Free Cash Flow. The company believes these metrics are useful for evaluating financial performance and are common alternative measures used by investors, financial analysts and rating agencies. These groups use EBITDA, along with other measures, to evaluate a company’s ability to meet its debt service requirements and to estimate the value of the company. A reconciliation of these metrics to amounts on the GAAP statements is embedded in the presentation.

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