Media General Reports November Revenues; Updates Fourth-Quarter Guidance

Media General Reports November Revenues; Updates Fourth-Quarter Guidance

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) today reported that November 2005 revenues of $79.7 million increased 3.3 percent from November 2004. On a divisional basis, Publishing revenues increased 4.5 percent, Interactive Media revenues rose 42 percent, and Broadcast revenues showed a small decline of 0.4 percent.

"Media General's total revenue growth in November reflected strong newspaper Classified and Retail advertising, especially in our Tampa market, continued double-digit increases in Broadcast Local time sales, and robust online revenue growth," said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer.

Newspaper advertising revenues for the month increased $2.6 million, or 6.3 percent. Including revenues from the company's newspaper Web sites, newspaper advertising revenues rose 7 percent for the month and total Publishing revenues increased 5.1 percent.

Classified revenues continued to show positive results and increased $1.4 million, or 9.5 percent. In November, Classified revenue growth was driven by both help-wanted and real estate advertising. Total Classified advertising increased 16.4 percent at The Tampa Tribune, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Winston-Salem Journal were up 4 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively. Community newspapers were up 3.2 percent. Including online advertising, Classified revenues increased 11 percent in November.

At the company's three metro newspapers, employment linage growth rose 5.1 percent, including increases of 2.6 percent at The Tampa Tribune, 5.6 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and 9.3 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal. Real estate linage increased 44.6 percent for the three markets combined, while automotive linage was down 12.3 percent.

Retail revenues saw one of the strongest gains of the year and increased $1.3 million, or 6.2 percent. More than one-half of the increase came from The Tampa Tribune, which was up 13.1 percent, as the result of gains in nearly all categories. The Winston-Salem Journal was up 3 percent due to higher department store and local advertising, while Retail revenues at the Richmond Times-Dispatch declined 1.4 percent, due to reductions in the department store and furniture categories. Community newspaper Retail revenues were up 2.8 percent.

National revenues declined $255,000, or 6 percent. The Tampa Tribune reported a 7.3 percent decrease due to declines in the automotive and telecommunications categories. The Richmond Times-Dispatch was down 1.8 percent, reflecting a decrease in the telecommunications and movie categories. The Winston-Salem Journal reported an 18.6 percent decline mostly due to lower pharmaceutical advertising.

While some Media General newspapers experienced circulation volume declines in November, eight newspapers reported Daily circulation volume growth and five newspapers did so for Sunday. Due primarily to a change in wholesale rates to independent carriers, for which there was a corresponding expense decrease, Circulation revenues were down 5.9 percent, or $410,000, from last year.

Gross time sales in the Broadcast Division of $28 million were up 3.7 percent, due to strong Local time sales growth, partially offset by the virtual absence of Political advertising in this off-election year.

Local time sales grew $2.8 million, or 17.2 percent, driven by new business development initiatives, particularly in the company's Tampa, Spartanburg and Birmingham markets. There were advances in the furniture, medical and telecommunications categories, while automotive advertising was flat.

National time sales decreased $450,000, or 4.9 percent. This decrease was due primarily to lower spending in the automotive, specialty stores and drug store categories, which offset increases in telecommunications and department store advertising.

Interactive Media Division revenues rose 42 percent to $1.8 million, fueled by a 38.1 percent increase in Classified advertising, led by employment, various new products and a 31.3 percent increase in Local advertising.

Outlook

For the fourth-quarter of 2005, Media General expects earnings per share to be in the range of $1.00 per share to $1.07 per share. In the 2004 period, buoyed by record Political revenues of $20.5 million for the quarter and a strong month of December, Media General earned $1.55 per share.

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, a manufacturer of recycled newsprint.

MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Revenues and Page Views

November
2005 2004 % Change

Revenues (000) $79,663 $77,139 3.3 %
Publishing 51,128 48,923 4.5 %
Broadcast 27,144 27,260 (0.4)%
Interactive Media 1,813 1,277 42.0 %
Eliminations (422) (321) (31.5)%

Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
By Category
Advertising $43,490 $40,905 6.3 %
Classified 16,463 15,034 9.5 %
Retail 22,472 21,169 6.2 %
National 3,950 4,204 (6.0)%
Other 605 498 21.5 %
Circulation 6,539 6,949 (5.9)%
By Property
Richmond 11,506 11,648 (1.2)%
Tampa 17,524 15,980 9.7 %
Winston-Salem 4,843 4,791 1.1 %
Community Newspapers 16,982 16,350 3.9 %

Advertising Revenues (000)
Richmond $9,091 $9,039 0.6 %
Tampa 16,138 14,550 10.9 %
Winston-Salem 4,011 3,965 1.2 %
Community Newspapers 13,870 13,198 5.1 %

Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000) $28,017 $27,020 3.7 %
Local 18,997 16,211 17.2 %
National 8,712 9,161 (4.9)%
Political 308 1,648 (81.3)%

Selected Online Total Page Views
TBO.com 16,988,413 15,376,975 10.5 %
(Tampa, Fla.)
TimesDispatch.com 9,147,971 7,196,469 27.1 %
(Richmond, Va.)
JournalNow.com 3,665,288 3,356,597 9.2 %
(Winston-Salem, N.C.)

Year-to-Date
2005 2004 % Change

Revenues (000) $844,678 $828,253 2.0 %
Publishing 541,717 520,160 4.1 %
Broadcast 288,567 298,638 (3.4)%
Interactive Media 18,837 12,762 47.6 %
Eliminations (4,443) (3,307) (34.4)%

Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
By Category
Advertising $451,234 $426,800 5.7 %
Classified 196,691 180,925 8.7 %
Retail 206,135 199,372 3.4 %
National 41,494 40,031 3.7 %
Other 6,914 6,472 6.8 %
Circulation 78,641 82,177 (4.3)%
By Property
Richmond 128,693 126,901 1.4 %
Tampa 176,932 163,807 8.0 %
Winston-Salem 49,834 49,277 1.1 %
Community Newspapers 184,065 178,161 3.3 %

Advertising Revenues (000)
Richmond $100,116 $96,471 3.8 %
Tampa 160,048 147,272 8.7 %
Winston-Salem 40,292 40,056 0.6 %
Community Newspapers 147,380 141,083 4.5 %

Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000) $288,132 $300,621 (4.2)%
Local 189,337 167,984 12.7 %
National 97,017 94,974 2.2 %
Political 2,177 37,663 (95.3)%

Selected Online Total Page Views
TBO.com 212,117,359 216,390,880 (2.0)%
(Tampa, Fla.)
TimesDispatch.com 98,470,097 74,864,970 31.5 %
(Richmond, Va.)
JournalNow.com 40,557,624 32,267,124 25.7 %
(Winston-Salem, N.C.)

Notes: All data are subject to later adjustment.

MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*

November
2005 2004 % Change
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Retail 32,573 36,354 (10.4)%
National 9,255 10,687 (13.4)%
Classified 63,420 67,745 (6.4)%
Total 105,248 114,786 (8.3)%
TAMPA TRIBUNE
Retail 54,211 51,183 5.9 %
National 15,651 18,037 (13.2)%
Classified 131,853 127,977 3.0 %
Total 201,715 197,197 2.3 %
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
Retail 39,138 41,006 (4.6)%
National 9,668 9,917 (2.5)%
Classified 55,190 52,982 4.2 %
Total 103,996 103,905 0.1 %
COMMUNITY & ASSOCIATES DAILIES
Retail 366,287 357,343 2.5 %
National 27,837 36,214 (23.1)%
Classified 390,273 426,755 (8.5)%
Total 784,397 820,312 (4.4)%
MEDIA GENERAL DAILIES TOTAL
Retail 492,209 485,886 1.3 %
National 62,411 74,855 (16.6)%
Classified 640,736 675,459 (5.1)%
Total 1,195,356 1,236,200 (3.3)%

Year-to-Date
2005 2004 % Change
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Retail 348,961 374,048 (6.7)%
National 113,691 117,747 (3.4)%
Classified 848,090 859,144 (1.3)%
Total 1,310,742 1,350,939 (3.0)%
TAMPA TRIBUNE
Retail 510,817 492,640 3.7 %
National 169,739 168,522 0.7 %
Classified 1,536,723 1,529,329 0.5 %
Total 2,217,279 2,190,491 1.2 %
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
Retail 403,457 423,668 (4.8)%
National 96,639 93,518 3.3 %
Classified 688,418 679,767 1.3 %
Total 1,188,514 1,196,953 (0.7)%
COMMUNITY & ASSOCIATES DAILIES
Retail 3,719,662 3,731,494 (0.3)%
National 319,421 335,100 (4.7)%
Classified 4,968,669 5,164,600 (3.8)%
Total 9,007,752 9,231,194 (2.4)%
MEDIA GENERAL DAILIES TOTAL
Retail 4,982,897 5,021,850 (0.8)%
National 699,490 714,887 (2.2)%
Classified 8,041,900 8,232,840 (2.3)%
Total 13,724,287 13,969,577 (1.8)%

* Advertising is in column inches -- full run only

Source: Media General Inc.

CONTACT: Investors: Lou Anne J. Nabhan, +1-804-649-6103, or Media: Ray
Kozakewicz, +1-804-649-6748, both of Media General

Web site: http://www.mediageneral.com/

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