Media General Announces Plans to Acquire Weekly Newspapers

Posted on April 7, 2000

Media General has announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire a group of weekly newspapers in southwestern Virginia. The newspapers, all owned by Community Newspapers of Southwest Virginia, Inc., include the Southwest Virginia Enterprise, which serves Wythe County; the Bland Messenger, in Bland County; the Smyth County News & Messenger, and the Floyd Press serving Floyd County. The combined circulation is approximately 17,500 and all four publications are printed in Wytheville.

``These publications further extend Media General's newspaper franchise in southwest Virginia and are situated to take advantage of the diverse retail environment in the region,'' said H. Graham Woodlief, president of Media General's Publishing Division.

Media General said the addition of these newspapers further enhance its position as a major provider of news and information in Virginia's southeastern region where it also operates newspapers in Abingdon, Bristol and Richlands, Va., and Statesville, N.C., and television stations in Roanoke, Va., and Johnson City, Tenn. Media General is an independent, publicly owned communications company situated primarily in the Southeast with interests in newspapers, broadcast television, interactive media, recycled newsprint production, and diversified information services.