UPDATE 4-Media General shareholders elect rival board slate
(Adds Harbinger statement)
NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - Media General Inc (MEG.N) shareholders elected a dissident slate of three directors on Thursday, despite the company's objections, in an effort to force changes at the newspaper publisher and broadcaster.
The company's shares rose nearly 4 percent on the news.
The results are the latest evidence of mounting shareholder dissatisfaction with the U.S. newspaper business, which is taking a beating from a housing crisis and other economic woes, while also losing advertising dollars to the Internet.
Media General shareholder discontent has grown as the stock shed more than 60 percent in the past 12 months, a trend common to other U.S. newspaper publishers.
The three nominees were put forth by dissident shareholder Harbinger Capital Partners, which holds a stake of more than 18 percent. Media General had urged shareholders to reject the nominees as unqualified to steer its business.
Media General announced the elections in a statement issued after its annual meeting on Thursday, but did not address Harbinger or the nominees directly. The results are preliminary and will be finalized in the next several days.
Harbinger said preliminary tabulations show its candidates received between 57 and 68 percent of the votes cast.
"We believe these individuals will bring experience, judgment, independence and accountability to the board," Harbinger Vice President Joseph Cleverdon said in a statement.
The new directors are Jack Liebau, head of an investment management company; J. Daniel Sullivan, who ran several broadcasting companies; and corporate turnaround consultant Eugene Davis.
CIVIL PEOPLE
Chief Executive Marshall Morton had criticized Harbinger's suggestions for the company and attacked the qualifications of the nominees. But last week, he said the company would work with the nominees if elected.
"We're civil people by nature," he said at the time.
Morton's comments came after fund manager Mario Gabelli, whose funds hold more than 22 percent of Media General's publicly traded shares, said he would tilt his vote toward Harbinger's slate.
On Thursday, Morton highlighted the company's accomplishments in trying to adjust to the Internet age and in reducing expenses and debt. Continued...
