Media General’s 18 TV stations helped offset the financial struggles of its 23 newspapers in the first quarter of this year, the company announced today in its quarterly earnings report.

Media General reported $3.2 million of operating income for the first quarter of 2012 compared with an operating loss of $4.2 million for the same period last year.  The company’s total revenue for the quarter was $150 million, up 0.4 percent from last year.

“The operating improvement is primarily the result of increased profits at our broadcast television stations, as they generated 12 percent revenue growth from increased political revenues and higher retransmission fees,” Media General president and CEO Marshall Morton said.