Media General Stock Soars 10% as Newspapers Rise on Dow Rally

By: Mark Fitzgerald Newspapers joined in the stock market's party Tuesday, with Media General Inc. leading the gainers with a 10% jump in share price.

Media General (NYSE: MEG) gained $1.28, or 10.03%, to close at $14.04 -- the first time since June 17 it has been over the $14 mark.

Ironically, only Monday a blogger for the widely read minyanville.com proclaimed Media General the "most hated" stock on Wall Street, measuring investor pessimism about the Richmond, Va.-based newspaper publisher partly on the large positions taken by short-sellers.

There was no apparent market-moving news about Media General Tuesday.

The newspaper sector rose along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which jumped 332 points, or 2.94%, on lower oil prices and the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

A.H. Belo Corp. (NYSE: AHC), the newspaper pure-play that has been beaten up in recent weeks, rallied 7.10% on the day, closing up 36 cents to $5.43.

Another new pure-play spin-off, E.W. Scripps Co. (NYSE: SSP), also regained some ground lost in the last month, closing at $6.86, up 30 cents, or 4.57%.

Journal Communications Inc. (NYSE: JRN) was also up strongly, closing at $4.88, a gain of 30 cents, or 6.5%.

Among other gainers were The New York Times Co., up 4.5%; Lee Enterprises Inc., up 2.36%; The Washington Post Co., up 3.29%; and Gannett Co. Inc., up 2.9%.

There were two modest decliners among widely traded newspaper stocks. The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) closed at $4.10, down 4 cents, or 0.97%.

GateHouse Media Inc. (NYSE: GHS) remained mired well below a dollar a share, closing Tuesday at 48 cents, off 2 cents, or 4.9%.