UPDATE 1-Florida swamps Media General in first quarter

(Adds details on economic conditions in Florida, background, changes dateline, previous LOS ANGELES)

NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - Poor economic conditions in Tampa, Florida, will contribute to Media General Inc (MEG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reporting a loss when it announces its first-quarter results, the newspaper publisher and broadcaster said on Thursday.

Media General, which publishes the Tampa Tribune, said "the recession in Tampa is so deep that we will not be able to fully offset the revenue shortfalls we are experiencing there."

The company plans to post a loss of 40 cents to 45 cents a share from continuing operations. The figure does not include five television stations it is trying to sell.

The company's forecast came on the same day that it reported an 11 percent drop in its February revenue. Revenue fell to $63.4 million because of a 28.5 percent drop in classified advertising sales.

The problems were mainly around Tampa and Richmond, Virginia, where Media General has its headquarters and publishes the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Media General said.

Media General has been trying to cut costs and build up its online presence after being hammered during the past year by a drop in advertising sales.

At the same time, it has rejected an overture by hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners to nominate three members to the company's board. Harbinger, which owns about 18 percent of Media General's publicly traded stock, has said that the company needs to take quick action to improve its results.

Media General Chief Executive Marshall Morton castigated Harbinger in a letter to shareholders this week, saying the board nominees are unqualified and that Harbinger has advanced no ideas to help the company. (Reporting by Robert MacMillan in New York and Sue Zeidler in Los Angeles; Editing by Gary Hill)