Business News
Media General Files Notice of 2009 Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement; Scott D. Anthony Nominated to Board of Directors
Monday 16. March 2009 - Media General (NYSE: MEG) today filed its Notice of 2009 Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Scott D. Anthony, president of Innosight LLC, a consulting firm specializing in strategies for growth through innovation, has been nominated to stand for election to the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on April 23, 2009.
Mr. Anthony is well known in the media industry. In 2005-2006, he spearheaded a major project with the American Press Institute to help the newspaper industry address the challenges of transformation spurred by technology and changing customer preferences. He helped create the Newspaper Next process for researching and testing viable new business models. Media General was one of six companies selected for pilot projects when Newspaper Next was introduced.
“Innovation is critical to Media General as we transform our business in the digital world,” said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer. “We are delighted that Scott Anthony has agreed to serve on the Board of Directors as we work to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the Internet and the mobile frontier. Media General had an early recognition of the power of the Internet and we look forward to having Scott’s insight as we accelerate our initiatives for online and mobile services growth.”
Media General directors standing for re-election to the Board are: J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman; O. Reid Ashe, Jr., Diana F. Cantor, Marshall N. Morton, Thompson L. Rankin, Rodney A. Smolla, Walter E. Williams and Coleman Wortham III.
Three directors nominated in 2008 by Harbinger Capital Partners were not re-nominated by the Board. Harbinger Capital Partners is no longer a significant shareholder of Media General.
Mr. Anthony, 34, serves as a consultant to a number of Fortune 500 and start-up companies. He was a partner at Innosight from 2003 to 2005, was named managing director in 2006 and became the firm’s president in 2007. He has written three books on innovation and is a featured speaker on the topics of growth and innovation. Mr. Anthony has also worked for McKinsey & Co., Aspen Technology, WorldSpace Corporation and Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen. He received a BA in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Media General said that it is taking advantage this year of the SEC’s “Notice and Access Rule” that allows companies to furnish proxy materials to shareholders using the Internet. The “e-proxy” approach aligns with the company’s business moving into the digital world, reduces overall expense and supports the environment. The Annual Meeting will be held on April 23, 2009 at 11 a.m. at the Richmond Newspapers Production Facility, 8460 Times-Dispatch Blvd., Mechanicsville, Va.
The Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and 2008 Annual Report have been posted to the company’s Web site at www.mediageneral.com. In addition, the company has posted its annual video report to employees on its Web site so that interested shareholders, reporters and others may have the opportunity to hear senior management discuss the many ways Media General is facing the challenges of the global recession and positioning the company for improved future performance and success.