J. Stewart Bryan was the chairman of Media General Inc., and the former publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Bryan was the fourth generation of his family to work in the media business, taking the reins of Media General in 1990.

He grew the company into a multimillion-dollar corporation that now owns 71 television stations. Bryan’s death came amid a bidding contest for the company between Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. of Texas and Iowa’s Meredith Corp.

Bryan died January 1, 2016. He was 77.