EXHIBIT 99.1

VALASSIS COMMUNICATIONS, INC.      Contact:  Lynn Liddle (313) 591-7374
                                                 Fax: (313) 591-4503
                                           VP, Corporate Communications
                                              and Investor Relations	 

  
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                VALASSIS BOARD NAMES PLANNED SUCCESSOR 
           ALAN F. SCHULTZ AS CEO, TO SUCCEED DAVID BRANDON

Livonia, Mich., June 4, 1998: Valassis Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCI) 
today announced that Alan F. Schultz, the Company's planned successor 
to David A. Brandon, has been named President and CEO. Effective 
immediately, Schultz will assume full leadership responsibility for the 
Company, and Brandon will continue as Chairman of the Board through the 
end of the year.

Schultz, who is the current Chief Operating Officer, and member of the 
Company's Board of Directors, has been with Valassis for over 13 years, 
holding various positions in sales, marketing, finance and operations. 
His assumption of the position of CEO was designed to ensure continuity 
of the Company's proven and effective management team. Chairman of the 
Board, David Brandon, commented that he believes the current management 
team to be well-prepared to lead the company, which prompted his 
decision to speed up the process of stepping down as CEO.

"Al and the Valassis leadership team are well up to the challenge of 
leading our company into the next millennium. I continue to believe 
that our best years lie ahead, making this the perfect time for me to 
step back and pursue some important personal goals and seek new 
challenges," said David Brandon, Chairman of the Board. "This change 
will be positive and energizing, and in keeping with the way we do 
business at our very special company. Change is good; we embrace it, 
and we have proven that we prosper in this environment. Valassis will 
be even stronger tomorrow as a result."  he added.

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Schultz commented, "During my career at Valassis, I have had the 
privilege of working with an exceptional group of individuals, and our 
team has only improved with time and experience. I am very motivated to 
lead this company to its next level of success, as we more aggressively 
pursue growth opportunities for Valassis and its shareholders."

Schultz, who is 39 years old, has held various positions in sales and 
general operations at Valassis. Prior to being named Chief Operating 
Officer in 1995, Schultz was the Company's Executive Vice President of 
Sales and Marketing. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, 
and former C.P.A. with Deloitte & Touche. He has been responsible for 
developing and leading many of the Company's recent successful 
ventures, including the launch of its Sampling Division, C&D rural 
county inserts program, targeting services, and recent industry 
initiatives which have aided in growing the Company's core free-
standing insert business.

Valassis management noted that it expects to take a charge of 
approximately $6 million in its upcoming second quarter, ending June 
30,1998, relating to Mr. Brandon's employment contract. 

Valassis Communications, Inc. is the leading company in the sales 
promotion industry, offering the broadest array of consumer promotion 
techniques, including: Valassis Inserts, free-standing inserts 
distributed to nearly 58 million households each week through Sunday 
newspapers; C&D County inserts, distributed to over 5 million 
households in rural communities; Valassis Impact Promotions (VIP), 
specialty and solo promotions; ROP Solutions, run-of-press advertising 
directly on the pages of newspapers; and Valassis Sampling, newspaper 
sampling programs.  VCI has eight sales offices and four printing/ 
production facilities in the U.S., and a Canadian subsidiary, Valassis 
of Canada.  VCI had revenue of $675.5 million in 1997.

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