Three Media General TV Stations, Web Sites Earn Regional Murrow Awards

RICHMOND, Va., April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) announced today that three of its television stations have won four regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding achievements in electronic journalism.  Two television stations, WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Va., and WSAV-TV in Savannah, Ga., won for Overall Excellence, the most prestigious category.

WSAV-TV also won in the Best Web site category, along with WJAR-TV in Providence, R.I.  This is the third consecutive year that WSAV has won for Overall Excellence, and the second consecutive year that WJAR has won for Best Web site.  Regional award winners automatically compete for the national Edward R. Murrow Awards. National winners will be selected in June.

The 2010 regional awards went to the following Media General television stations:

"Our Web site was recently honored by the Associated Press, and now we are delighted to receive this prestigious Murrow award," said Kim Reis, General Manager of interactive media, WJAR. "It's wonderful to see WJAR's team being honored by so many respected organizations."

WSAV General Manager Deb Thompson said, "We are honored to be recognized for overall excellence for the third consecutive year and for the best Web site for the fourth time since 2002.  These awards are a wonderful confirmation of the dedication and commitment our team has to keeping the families in our area informed on what matters most."

"The Murrow Award shows our community that WSAV is committed to the highest journalistic standards," added WSAV News Director Kevin Brennan.  "I'm most excited that these specific awards recognize and reflect the teamwork that's been embraced by all of our staff in providing content across all platforms."  

WSLS News Director Melissa Preas said, "To win an Edward R. Murrow award for overall excellence is an honor in and of itself, but to win this award in such a challenging year for the industry is an especially amazing feat.  I believe this award truly speaks to the talent and professionalism of the WSLS news department."

The Murrow Awards, presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), reward the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news profession.  Radio, television and online news managers from markets across the country judged the entries.  

RTNDA judges awarded 599 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in 14 categories, including

Overall Excellence, Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, and Web Site. RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Murrow Awards since 1971.

About Media General

Media General is a leading provider of news, information and entertainment across multiple media platforms, serving consumers and advertisers in strong local markets, primarily in the Southeastern United States. Media General's operations are organized in five geographic market segments and a sixth segment that includes interactive advertising services and certain other operations. The company's operations include 18 network-affiliated television stations and their associated Web sites, three metropolitan and 20 community newspapers and their associated Web sites, and more than 200 specialty publications that include weekly newspapers and niche publications targeted to various demographic, geographic and topical communities of interest. Many of the company's specialty publications have associated Web sites. Media General additionally operates three interactive advertising services companies: Blockdot, which specializes in interactive entertainment and advergaming technologies; DealTaker.com, a coupon and shopping Web site; and NetInformer, a leading provider of wireless media and mobile marketing services.

SOURCE Media General, Inc.