This is not a political debate, but rather a face-off between Media General management and dissident shareholder Harbinger Capital Partners over their dueling slates for three Media General board seats. Mario Gabelli will sit in the moderator’s chair and host the session for institutional investors to hear both sides. Gabelli & Company is an even larger Media General shareholder than Habinger and Gabelli has not yet taken sides in the battle.
Marshall Morton, Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Media General will represent the company at the April 1st session. Joseph Cleverdon, Vice President & Director of Investments, will present on behalf of Harbinger Capital Partners. Harbinger claims Media General needs to refocus its business strategies to better serve its shareholders, while Morton insists that he has the company on the right track for the future.
The three seats at stake account for only one-third of the board of directors. Super-voting shares mostly held by Chairman J. Stewart Bryan and his family elect the other two-thirds.
