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Media General Reports November Revenues

TO BUSINESS EDITOR:

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported November 2003 total revenues of $72.4 million, an increase of 1.4 percent from total revenues of $71.4 million in November 2002. By operating segment, Publishing revenues increased 5.1 percent, Broadcast revenues declined 5.8 percent, and Interactive Media revenues were up 41.1 percent.

"We are pleased that advertising momentum continues to build in our Publishing business," said J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer. "Total revenue and advertising revenue experienced the strongest monthly growth this year and were 5.1 percent and 6.2 percent above last year, respectively. This marks the sixth consecutive month of strong year-over-year growth. Broadcast gross time sales declined 5 percent, mostly due to the relative absence of political revenues this year. We believe December time sales will be up over last year," Bryan said.

In Publishing, classified revenue was above last year by $780,000, or 6.3 percent, the largest monthly increase in 2003. Although partially offset by automotive linage that was below last year by 2 percent, employment advertising continued to show improvement last month, up 19.9 percent from last year at the metro papers, as The Tampa Tribune reported a 13.9 percent increase in linage, the Richmond Times-Dispatch a nearly 37 percent increase, and the Winston-Salem Journal decreased 1.8 percent.

Retail revenue increased 0.2 percent, driven primarily by increases in Tampa and several community newspaper markets. Preprint revenue was up $835,000, or 10.4 percent, continuing a double-digit growth trend. Significant increases were seen in almost all markets.

National revenue exceeded last year by $560,000, or nearly 20 percent, with significant gains from The Tampa Tribune and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, reflecting strong financial and telecommunications advertising. Circulation revenue increased $205,000, or 3 percent.

The Broadcast Division reported a 2.8 percent increase in national times sales, with strength in the financial, services and telecommunications categories. Local time sales decreased 1.7 percent, reflecting declines in department stores, fast food, grocery stores and entertainment. Political revenues were $625,000 compared with $1.9 million last year, mostly for campaign spending in the Louisiana gubernatorial run-off, mayoral races in Savannah and Charleston, and issue spending in Florida.

In the Interactive Media Division, double-digit revenue growth was generated by continued strong national sales, steady classified advertising and special promotions.

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.


                               MEDIA GENERAL INC.

                             Revenues and Page Views

                                                          November
                                                2003        2002     % Change

    Revenues (000)                            $72,391      $71,372      1.4 %
           Publishing                          47,491       45,205      5.1 %
           Broadcast                           24,336       25,829     (5.8)%
           Interactive Media                      844          598     41.1 %
           Eliminations                          (280)        (260)    (7.7)%

           Discontinued operations                  0          360   (100.0)%


    Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
        By Category
           Advertising                        $39,635      $37,316      6.2 %
              Classified                       13,189       12,412      6.3 %
              Retail                           12,222       12,196      0.2 %
              National                          3,407        2,847     19.7 %
              Preprints                         8,842        8,006     10.4 %
              Other                             1,975        1,855      6.5 %
           Circulation                          7,020        6,815      3.0 %
        By Property
           Richmond                            11,766       10,841      8.5 %
           Tampa                               15,145       14,267      6.2 %
           Winston-Salem                        4,661        4,751     (1.9)%
           Community Newspapers                15,781       15,103      4.5 %


    Advertising Revenues (Dailies) (000)
           Richmond                            $9,136       $8,262     10.6 %
           Tampa                               13,831       12,966      6.7 %
           Winston-Salem                        3,869        3,925     (1.4)%
           Community Newspapers                11,088       10,478      5.8 %


    Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)        $24,678      $25,972     (5.0)%
           Local                               15,283       15,553     (1.7)%
           National                             8,770        8,534      2.8 %
           Political                              625        1,885    (66.8)%


    Selected Online Total Page Views
           TBO.com                         12,329,426   11,033,899     11.7 %
                (Tampa, Fla.)
           timesdispatch.com                4,675,361    5,560,591    (15.9)%
                (Richmond, Va.)
           JournalNow.com                   2,500,919    2,408,631      3.8 %
                (Winston-Salem, N.C.)


    Notes:  All data are subject to later adjustment.



                               MEDIA GENERAL INC.

                             Revenues and Page Views

                                                          Year-to-Date
                                                 2003         2002   % Change

    Revenues (000)                             $770,400     $766,234    0.5 %
           Publishing                           500,118      485,721    3.0 %
           Broadcast                            263,626      276,726   (4.7)%
           Interactive Media                      8,954        5,553   61.2 %
           Eliminations                          (2,298)      (1,766) (30.1)%

           Discontinued operations                3,854        4,858  (20.7)%


    Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
        By Category
           Advertising                         $408,928     $394,834    3.6 %
              Classified                        159,437      155,321    2.6 %
              Retail                            122,202      123,941   (1.4)%
              National                           31,244       28,075   11.3 %
              Preprints                          75,893       68,977   10.0 %
              Other                              20,152       18,520    8.8 %
           Circulation                           80,472       79,695    1.0 %
        By Property
           Richmond                             123,721      119,071    3.9 %
           Tampa                                156,409      149,895    4.3 %
           Winston-Salem                         49,203       48,927    0.6 %
           Community Newspapers                 169,068      166,019    1.8 %


    Advertising Revenues (Dailies) (000)
           Richmond                             $93,848      $89,219    5.2 %
           Tampa                                141,045      134,993    4.5 %
           Winston-Salem                         39,862       39,657    0.5 %
           Community Newspapers                 115,442      112,538    2.6 %


    Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)         $260,658     $274,562   (5.1)%
           Local                                159,763      150,032    6.5 %
           National                              94,446       92,654    1.9 %
           Political                              6,449       31,876  (79.8)%


    Selected Online Total Page Views
           TBO.com                          148,524,809  136,238,525    9.0 %
                (Tampa, Fla.)
           timesdispatch.com                 70,586,458   54,340,615   29.9 %
                (Richmond, Va.)
           JournalNow.com                    27,870,426   25,457,666    9.5 %
                (Winston-Salem, N.C.)


    Notes:  All data are subject to later adjustment.



                                MEDIA GENERAL

                     Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*

                                                          November
                                               2003         2002     % Change

    RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
        Retail                                37,206        40,193     (7.4)%
        National                              13,595        11,247     20.9 %
        Classified                            69,936        64,178      9.0 %
            Total                            120,737       115,618      4.4 %

    TAMPA TRIBUNE
        Retail                                47,900        49,335     (2.9)%
        National                              18,963        13,891     36.5 %
        Classified                           123,745       128,036     (3.4)%
            Total                            190,608       191,262     (0.3)%

    WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
        Retail                                40,773        45,030     (9.5)%
        National                               9,735         8,773     11.0 %
        Classified                            54,423        58,827     (7.5)%
            Total                            104,931       112,630     (6.8)%

    COMMUNITY DAILIES
        Retail                               368,414       381,645     (3.5)%
        National                              31,063        24,581     26.4 %
        Classified                           398,445       377,777      5.5 %
            Total                            797,922       784,003      1.8 %

    MEDIA GENERAL DAILIES TOTAL
        Retail                               494,293       516,203     (4.2)%
        National                              73,356        58,492     25.4 %
        Classified                           646,549       628,818      2.8 %
            Total                          1,214,198     1,203,513      0.9 %


    *  Advertising is in column inches - full run only.



                                    MEDIA GENERAL

                       Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*

                                                         Year-to-Date
                                                2003         2002   % Change

    RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
        Retail                                 398,745      413,326   (3.5)%
        National                               130,320      109,946   18.5 %
        Classified                             831,861      763,717    8.9 %
            Total                            1,360,926    1,286,989    5.7 %

    TAMPA TRIBUNE
        Retail                                 474,215      485,812   (2.4)%
        National                               183,042      150,734   21.4 %
        Classified                           1,537,664    1,507,639    2.0 %
            Total                            2,194,921    2,144,185    2.4 %

    WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
        Retail                                 409,924      441,634   (7.2)%
        National                                90,846       86,549    5.0 %
        Classified                             692,086      717,037   (3.5)%
            Total                            1,192,856    1,245,220   (4.2)%

    COMMUNITY DAILIES
        Retail                               3,791,709    3,896,732   (2.7)%
        National                               315,171      279,790   12.6 %
        Classified                           4,792,715    4,433,703    8.1 %
            Total                            8,899,595    8,610,225    3.4 %

    MEDIA GENERAL DAILIES TOTAL
        Retail                               5,074,593    5,237,504   (3.1)%
        National                               719,379      627,019   14.7 %
        Classified                           7,854,326    7,422,096    5.8 %
            Total                           13,648,298   13,286,619    2.7 %

    *  Advertising is in column inches - full run only.

SOURCE  Media General, Inc.

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