Media General announced yesterday in a press release that shareholders had re-elected eight directors and elected a new one. Though the company has laid off 21 percent of its work force in the past two years, CEO Marshall Morton had upbeat news: "We’ve made a lot of progress pushing into new digital platforms and creating new ways to serve consumers and advertisers," he said.
The company announced the addition of a new director, Scott Anthony, president of Innosight, a company that focuses on innovation and growth strategies for struggling businesses…like Media General.
Earlier this year, MG announced a mandatory 10-day furlough for all Daily Progress employees. a decrease in production for two North Carolina papers and a general reduction in employees. According to the release, the company has reduced its workforce by nearly 1,500 people since the beginning of 2007.
The election of Anthony is part of Media General’s effort to combat the economic climate. "Our strategy…," Morton says, "is to make our content easily accessible on all the platforms people are using and to find new ways to monetize that content."
Perhaps shareholders see promise in that strategy: This morning, MEG share prices were up 5.29 percent, though prices remain a far cry from the 52-week high of $27.18.
