Media General was an American media company based in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-h ...

''. Joseph Bryan's son,

John Stewart Bryan John Stewart Bryan (October 23, 1871 – October 16, 1944) was an American newspaper publisher, attorney, and college president. He was the nineteenth president of the College of William and Mary, serving from 1934 to 1942. He also served as th ...

succeeded his father as owner and publisher of the ''Times-Dispatch'', which merged with ''

The Richmond News Leader ''The Richmond News Leader'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia from 1888 to 1992. During much of its run, it was the largest newspaper source in Richmond, competing with the morning '' Richmond Times-Dispatch''. ...

'' in 1940 to form Richmond Newspapers, Inc. After John Stewart Bryan's death in 1944, his son, D. Tennant Bryan led the company into a period of expansion into television, changing the company's name to Media General in 1969. Media General, Inc. began trading on the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...

in 1970. In 1990, J. Stewart Bryan III, great-grandson of Joseph Bryan, became chairman, president and chief executive officer of Media General. The fourth-generation Bryan oversaw the company's expansion into digital media and the sale of Media General's newspaper division to

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiu ...

in 2012. J. Stewart Bryan III remained chairman of Media General until his death on January 23, 2016. In 2013 and 2014, Media General expanded significantly through mergers with Young Broadcasting and

LIN Media LIN Media was an American holding company founded in 1994 that operated 43 television stations. All except one were affiliates of the six major U.S. television networks. One of the remaining stations was a low powered weather station in In ...

. After the latter merger, LIN Media CEO Vincent L. Sadusky became chief executive officer of Media General while former Young Broadcasting CEO Deborah A. McDermott led station operations as Chief Operating Officer. Long-time Media General CFO James F. Woodward remained as Chief Financial Officer until the company's dissolution in 2017. On January 11, 2017, the FCC approved the sale of Media General to Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $4.6 billion.

History

The conglomeration of newspapers was founded in 1940 when owners of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

's two newspapers, the '' Times-Dispatch'' and '' News Leader'', merged them to form Richmond Newspapers, Inc. In 1966, it purchased a majority interest in the

Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing '' Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''S ...

, which included

WFLA-AM WFLA (970 AM) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay media market. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy ...

- FM- TV in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, making that the company's first ever foray into television, a strategy that was later used by such acquisition practices. In 1969, as the company's media properties grew and diversified, it was renamed Media General.

Additional acquisitions

In 1981, the company began its expansion practice of television stations under the Media General Telecommunications subsidiary. It first purchased WJKS-TV in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

from Ziff-Davis Broadcasting on December 7, 1981, for $18 million, the sale was approved on November 8, 1982. On July 5, 1982, the company bought out WCBD-TV in Charleston from the State Telecasting Company for $8 million, the deal was approved on January 24, 1983. In 1982 the company acquired The William B. Tanner Company (previously known as Pepper-Tanner), a commercial radio jingle production company headquartered in Memphis. It was divested in 1988. In 1987, Media General, which included its Media General Broadcast Group comprising three television stations at that time, as well as its cable systems in various areas was sold off to a group led by The Giant Group, a firm owned by

Burt Sugarman Burton Roy Sugarman (born January 4, 1939) is an American film and television producer best known for creating and producing the iconic 1970s/early '80s variety series '' The Midnight Special'', which served as a showcase for popular musical group ...

, which purchased a stake for $103.8 million, with backing also held by television production company

Barris Industries Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris. History Barris founded his company on June 14, 1965 as Chuck Barris Productions. The company's first series was an unsold pilot called '' Peopl ...

. In 1996, Media General acquired Park Acquisitions, the holding company for Park Communications, formerly owned by the media entrepreneur

Roy H. Park Roy Hampton Park (15 September 1910 – 25 October 1993) was an American media executive and entrepreneur. He is known for creating the Duncan Hines brand of packaged food products, and for his television/radio/newspaper conglomerate, Park Commun ...

. In 1999, Media General bought Spartanburg-based Spartan Communications, which increased Media General's station portfolio from 14 to 27. Four NBC-owned stations in smaller markets that were put up for sale on January 9, 2006. On April 6,

NBC Owned Television Stations NBC Owned Television Stations (formerly NBC Local Media and NBC Television Stations Division (TVSD)) is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees the NBC owned-and-operated television ...

and Media General announced that the latter would purchase the four NBC O&O's as part of a $600 million four-station deal between the two companies.

Divestment of properties in the late 2000s

On July 28, 2006, Media General announced that they would sell KWCH-TV and its satellites to a Schurz Communications-affiliated company Sunflower Broadcasting for $73 million. On August 2, 2006, Media General announced that it would sell WIAT and

KIMT KIMT (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Mason City, Iowa, United States, serving North Central Iowa and Southeast Minnesota as an affiliate of CBS and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on ...

New Vision Television New Vision Television was a broadcast company based in Santa Monica, California. Throughout its two decade plus history, the company owned or managed over 60 television stations in large and medium-sized markets. History New Vision I Formed by ...

for $35 million; the sale was finalized on October 12, 2006. Between 2006 and 2008, Morris Network, a division of

Morris Multimedia Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Mani ...

bought out two station properties, WDEF and

WTVQ WTVQ-DT (channel 36) is a television station in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with ABC and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Morris Multimedia, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on the outer loop of Man o' War Bou ...

, the former's price for WDEF cost $22 million, and the latter's price for WTVQ-TV cost $16.5 million, totaling up a $38.5 million budget for the combined two stations. On October 29, 2007, Media General announced that the company was exploring the sale of

WCWJ WCWJ (channel 17) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by Graham Media Group alongside independent station WJXT (channel 4). Both stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the ...

, KALB-TV,

WMBB WMBB (channel 13) is a television station in Panama City, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Harrison Avenue/US 231 in downtown Panama City, and its transmitter is l ...

, and WNEG-TV. On March 14, 2008, the company reached an agreement to sell KALB and WMBB to

Hoak Media Hoak Media Corporation was a broadcast media company based in Dallas, Texas. Hoak once owned eighteen television stations (including satellites), all in medium and small-markets, mostly in the Great Plains states and Colorado. Hoak Media was e ...

. The deal was closed on July 16. On June 25, 2008, Media General announced the sale of WNEG-TV to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. On January 28, 2009, Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WCWJ. The deal was finalized on May 1, 2009.

2010s: Expansions, mergers with Young Broadcasting and LIN Media

On June 6, 2013, it was announced that Young Broadcasting would sell itself to Media General, in a transaction described as a " reverse merger". On November 8, the FCC approved the merger. The merger closed on November 12. Following the merger, the new company was owned 67.5 percent by Young shareholders and 32.5 percent by Media General shareholders. The combined company owned 30 stations, reaching 14% of the United States. and continued to operate as Media General. Headquarters would remain in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, however, for the first time in over a century, the Bryan Family would not have a controlling interest in the company. On March 21, 2014, Media General and LIN Media announced that the two companies would merge. The deal, worth an estimated $1.6 billion, would create an entity of 71 stations with a combined reach of 24% of U.S. television households. 45 Media General staff members were laid off; CEO George Mahoney stepped down in favor of his LIN counterpart Vincent Sadusky. In order to comply with FCC ownership rules as well as planned changes to rules regarding same-market television stations which would prohibit future joint sales agreements, some of the stations would be sold to several other companies in five markets (

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, Green Bay, Mobile,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

) where both groups already own stations. On August 20, 2014, Media General and LIN Media announced several sales. Media General sold WJAR, WLUK,

WTGS WTGS (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Hardeeville, South Carolina, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Savannah, Georgia, area. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WTGS maintains transmitter facilities on Fort Ar ...

and WCWF to the

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, ...

in exchange for Sinclair's KXRM, KXTU, WHTM and WTTA. Although the WHTM sale was discussed two months earlier, it was completed in September 2014, the rest of the transactions would not come into effect until the deal was completed.

Hearst Television Hearst Television, Inc. (formerly Hearst-Argyle Television) is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications. From 1998 to mid-2009, the company traded its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ...

acquired

WVTM WVTM-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities atop Red Mountain, between Vulcan Trail and Valley ...

and WJCL, and

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

acquired

WALA __NOTOC__ Wala may refer to: Places * Wala (island), a small island in Vanuatu, and a popular destination for cruise ships * Wala, Panama, a community in Kuna de Wargandí, Panama *Kingdom of Wala a pre-colonial polity in the north of modern Ghana ...

. On October 6, the two companies' shareholders approved the deal, and the FCC approved the deal on December 12. The merger was completed on December 19. A condition of the deal requires Media General to end the joint sales agreements it has with stations in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, and

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, due to tighter scrutiny such deals are getting by the FCC. Media General received a two-year waiver in those markets to end the JSAs. On July 14, 2015, Media General pulled its stations off of Mediacom cable systems across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

due to a carriage dispute over retransmission consent fees. This carriage dispute saw Media General stations disappear from Mediacom lineups in 14 television markets across the United States and even three of the Fox affiliates owned by Media General were lost to Mediacom subscribers in Hampton Roads, Virginia,

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, and

just before the start of the

2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 86th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was played at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on Tuesday, July 14. It was televised nationally on Fox. The Am ...

. On July 30, 2015, Mediacom and Media General reached a new agreement, thereby restoring Media General owned stations to Mediacom subscribers in the affected areas. On July 13, 2016, the FCC issued a $700,000 fine against Media General for using a shared services agreement with WAGT to prevent its new owner

Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...

from divesting it in the spectrum incentive auction.

Aborted merger with Meredith; acquisition by Nexstar

On September 8, 2015, it was announced that Media General would acquire Meredith Corporation in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.4 billion. Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal was expected to be consummated in June 2016. The combined company was to be known as Meredith Media General, and become the third-largest owner of television stations in the United States—serving an estimated 30% of households. In order to comply with FCC regulations, some stations would have been sold to other companies in six markets where both groups already own stations (Greenville-Spartanburg, Hartford-New Haven, Mobile, Nashville, Portland (OR) and Springfield (MA)). Media General shareholders would have controlled 65% of the company, with Meredith shareholders holding 35%. On September 28, it was revealed that Nexstar Broadcasting Group had made an unsolicited cash-and-stock offer for Media General, valued at $14.50 per-share. Following the announcement, Media General shareholders Oppenheimer Holdings (7% stake) and Starboard Capital (4.5% stake) opposed the Meredith merger in favor of selling to Nexstar. On October 6, 2015, the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' speculated that the deal had been called off, believing that the deal was unlikely to receive further shareholder support due to these objections. Both companies have denied that this was the case, and reported that other major shareholders were backing the merger. Media General hired additional firms to evaluate the Nexstar bid. On November 16, Media General rejected the offer but agreed to negotiate after concluding its merger with Meredith. On January 27, 2016, Media General announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Nexstar in a deal valued at $17.14 per-share, valuing the company at $4.6 billion plus the assumption of $2.3 billion debt. The combined company will be known as Nexstar Media Group, and own 171 stations, serving an estimated 39% of households. The company will pay Meredith a termination fee of $60 million, and give Meredith right of first refusal to acquire any broadcast or digital properties that may be divested during the merge. The deal also includes

contingent value rights In corporate finance, Contingent Value Rights (CVR) are rights granted by an acquirer to a company’s shareholders, facilitating the transaction where some uncertainty is inherent. CVRs may be separately tradeable securities; they are occasiona ...

for Media General shareholders if it sells spectrum from its stations during the FCC's spectrum incentive auction. The transaction was approved on January 11, 2017, with the sale consummated six days later, on January 17.

Former assets

Newspapers

On May 17, 2012, it was announced that investment company

would be acquiring Media General's newspaper division (excluding ''

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. ...

''); the newspapers to be merged into Berkshire Hathaway's World Media Enterprises division, a sister company of its other newspaper holdings under the ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

''. The deal closed June 25, 2012. Media General's chairman and former CEO, J. Stewart Bryan III said the company faced a choice: either sell its newspaper division or file for bankruptcy protection. The latter, he said, was "unacceptable." At the end of 2011, Media General had $658 million in debt. In October 2012, ''The Tampa Tribune'' and its associated print and digital products were acquired by Tampa Media Group, Inc., a new company formed by Revolution Capital Group.

Major newspapers

*''

'' *''

Winston-Salem Journal The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina. The paper is owned by Lee Enterprises. ''The Journa ...

Community newspapers

Alabama

Dothan Eagle The ''Dothan Eagle'' is a daily newspaper serving Dothan, Alabama, and surrounding communities. History It was founded in 1908. It was owned by the Thomson Corporation until 2000, when it was sold to Media General. In 2012, Media General sold ...

The Enterprise Ledger
*

Opelika-Auburn News The ''Opelika-Auburn News'' is a daily newspaper in Alabama, serving Opelika, Auburn, and the surrounding communities. History The newspaper began as the weekly ''Opelika Industrial News'', on September 11, 1890. On May 30, 1904, the newspap ...

The Eufaula TribuneThe Corner News

Florida

*(Brooksville
Hernando Today
(associated with ''The Tampa Tribune'') *(Sebring) Highlands Today ''(associated with ''The Tampa Tribune'')
Jackson County Floridan
(Marianna) *'' CENTRO Tampa'' (Spanish-language weekly) *(New Port Richey
The Suncoast News
(associated with ''The Tampa Tribune'')

North Carolina

* The (Eden) ''Daily News'' *''

Hickory Daily Record ''Hickory Daily Record'' is an American, English language daily newspaper based in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. It is owned by Lee Enterprises and is published seven days a week. The newspaper is a member of the North Carolina Press Associati ...

'' * *The (Marion) '' McDowell News'' *The (Madison) ''Messenger'' *The (Morganton) ''News Herald'' *'' The Reidsville Review'' *'' Statesville Record & Landmark''

South Carolina

* ''The Morning News'' (Florence) Daily Newspaper for Florence and the Pee Dee Region *''The News and Post'' (Lake City) Weekly *''The Marion Star'' (Marion) Weekly *''The Weekly Observer'' (Hemingway) Weekly *''The Hartsville Messenger'' Weekly

Virginia

*''Amherst New Era-Progress'' *''Powhatan Today'' *''Midlothian Exchange'' *''Mechanicsville Local'' *''Goochland Gazette'' *'' Bristol Herald Courier'' *'' Culpeper Star-Exponent'' *The (Charlottesville) ''Daily Progress'' *'' Danville Register & Bee'' *''Nelson County Times'' *'' The News & Advance'' (Lynchburg) * The (Waynesboro) ''News Virginian'' *'' News & Messenger'' (Manassas) ''(defunct)'' *''Richlands News-Press/Clinch Valley News'' *''

'' (defunct) *''Smyth News and Messenger'' (Marion) *
The Wytheville Enterprise
' *''Washington County News'' (Abingdon) *''Greene County Record'' *''Madison County Eagle'' *'' Orange County Review''

Television stations

Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and

city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American b ...

. ''Notes:'' * (**) – ''Indicates a station built and signed on by Media General''. * (¤¤) – ''Indicates a station owned by

Park Communications Roy Hampton Park (15 September 1910 – 25 October 1993) was an American media executive and entrepreneur. He is known for creating the Duncan Hines brand of packaged food products, and for his television/radio/newspaper conglomerate, Park Commun ...

prior to its acquisition by Media General in 1997''. * (##) – ''Indicates a station owned by Spartan Communications prior to its acquisition by Media General in 2000.'' * (++) – ''Indicates a station acquired by Media General from

in 2006.'' * (¥) – ''Indicates a station owned by Young Broadcasting prior to its merger with Media General in 2013.'' * (§§) – ''Indicates a station owned by

prior to its merger with Media General in 2014.'' Other Notes: * ¹ Owned by Schurz Communications, Media General operated WAGT under a shared services agreement (SSA), with WJBF. * ² Owned by Vaughan Media, Media General operated the stations through a SSA. * ³ Owned by

Shield Media Shield Media, LLC was a private American television broadcasting company based in Lafayette, Louisiana. The company's stations were operated by Nexstar Media Group under joint sales and shared services agreements. History The company was founde ...

, Media General operated the stations through an SSA. * ⁴ Owned by Tamer Media, LLC, Media General operated the stations through an SSA. * ⁵ Owned by Super Towers, Inc., Media General operated WNAC through a local marketing agreement.

Other assets

* Atlee Park * Blockdot * Boxerjam Media * BiteSizeTV * '' Hollywood Today Live'', a daily syndicated entertainment news program distributed by Media General stations, along with

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...

under a traditional syndication arrangement. * LIN Digital

References

{{NXST TV, state=collapsed Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Defunct broadcasting companies of the United States Companies based in Richmond, Virginia Companies based in Tampa, Florida Mass media companies established in 1940 Mass media companies disestablished in 2017 Nexstar Media Group 2017 mergers and acquisitions