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<CONFORMED-NAME>SAGA COMMUNICATIONS INC
<CIK>0000886136
<ASSIGNED-SIC>4832
<IRS-NUMBER>383042953
<STATE-OF-INCORPORATION>DE
<FISCAL-YEAR-END>1231
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<STREET1>73 KERCHEVAL AVE
<CITY>GROSSE POINTE FARMS
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<DESCRIPTION>SAGA COMMUNICATIONS,INC
<TEXT>

<PAGE>   1


                                  United States
                       Securities and Exchange Commission
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                    FORM 11-K

(MARK ONE)


[X] Annual Report Pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000


                                       or


[ ] Transition Report Pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 For the transition period from _________ to _________


Commission file number 333-85535


             Saga Communications, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan
             ------------------------------------------------------
                              (Full title of plan)


                            Saga Communications, Inc.
                               73 Kercheval Avenue
                       Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan 48236
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     (Name of Issuer of Securities Held Pursuant to Plan and Address of its
                          Principal Executive Office)



<PAGE>   2






                            Saga Communications, Inc.
                          Employee Stock Purchase Plan



                            Financial Statements for
                           December 31, 2000 and 1999
                       with Report of Independent Auditors



                                                                               2

<PAGE>   3



                            SAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

                              FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

                           DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999



                                TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                       Page

Report of Independent Auditors                                          4

Financial Statements
Statements of Financial Condition                                       5
Statements of Income and Changes in Plan Equity                         6
Notes to Financial Statements                                           7

Other Information
Signatures                                                              10
Exhibit 23 - Consent of Independent Auditors                            11



                                                                               3


<PAGE>   4


                         Report of Independent Auditors


Plan Administrator
Saga Communications, Inc.
    Employee Stock Purchase Plan

We have audited the accompanying statements of financial condition of the Saga
Communications, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of December 31, 2000 and
1999 and the related statements of income and changes in plan equity for the
year ended December 31, 2000 and for the period from July 1, 1999 to December
31, 1999. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan's
administrator. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted
in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free
of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit
also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates
made by the Plan Administrator, as well as evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis
for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in
all material respects, the financial condition of the Saga Communications, Inc.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan at December 31, 2000 and 1999, and the results of
its operations and changes in its plan equity for the year ended December 31,
2000 and for the period from July 1, 1999 to December 31, 1999 in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

                                        /s/ Ernst & Young LLP

March 6, 2001
Detroit, Michigan



                                                                               4

<PAGE>   5


                            SAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                        STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION




                                                               DECEMBER 31,
                                                            2000        1999
                                                          ----------------------
ASSETS:
Class A Common Stock of Saga Communications, Inc.
  at fair value (20,118 shares at cost of $368,018
  at December 31, 2000 and 3,309 shares at a cost of
  $67,007 at December 31, 1999)                           $299,255    $ 67,007
                                                          ======================



PLAN EQUITY:
Plan equity                                               $299,255    $ 67,007
                                                          ======================


See accompanying notes.


                                                                               5

<PAGE>   6


                            SAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                 STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND CHANGES IN PLAN EQUITY



<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                   FOR THE YEAR      FOR THE PERIOD FROM
                                                      ENDED            JULY 1, 1999 TO
                                                DECEMBER 31, 2000     DECEMBER 31, 1999
                                                ----------------------------------------

<S>                                                  <C>                  <C>
ADDITIONS:
    Participant contributions                        $255,859             $ 56,957
    Employer contributions                             45,152               10,050
                                                ----------------------------------------
                                                      301,011               67,007

DEDUCTIONS:
    Plan distributions                                     --                   --
                                                ----------------------------------------
                                                      301,011               67,007

Net realized and unrealized depreciation in
    fair value of investments                              --
                                                                           (68,763)
                                                ----------------------------------------
Net increase                                          232,248               67,007
Plan equity-beginning of period                        67,007                   --
                                                ----------------------------------------
Plan equity-end of period                            $299,255             $ 67,007
                                                ========================================
</TABLE>


See accompanying notes



                                                                               6

<PAGE>   7


                            SAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
                                DECEMBER 31, 2000
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN

In 1999, the stockholders of Saga Communications, Inc. ("Company") approved the
Saga Communications, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("Plan") under which
1,250,000 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock could be sold to the
Company's employees. The Plan was effective July 1, 1999, and employees were
eligible to begin contributing on October 1, 1999.

Employees are eligible to participate in the Plan if they are employed by the
Company or any of its subsidiaries and 1) customarily works a minimum of 20
hours per week and 2) has completed six consecutive months of service.

Each calendar year quarter, an offering is made to eligible employees to
purchase Class A Common Stock of the Company under the provisions of the Plan.
An eligible employee may elect to withhold 1 to 10 percent of their compensation
(up to a limit of $25,000 per year) to purchase shares of the Company's stock at
a price equal to 85 percent of the fair value of the stock as of the last day of
such quarter. The Company contributes the difference between the cost of shares
acquired and the participant purchase price.

Participants are not permitted under the Plan to dispose of any shares purchased
under the Plan within two years after the later of (i) the beginning of the
quarter in which a deduction was taken from the participant's compensation for
the purchase of the shares, or (ii) the expiration of one year from the date the
shares were transferred to the participant.

Participants are immediately 100% vested in the Plan.

Shares are purchased on the last day of each quarter. There were 16,809 and
3,309 shares issued under the Plan during 2000 and 1999, respectively.

The Plan will terminate upon the issuance of 1,250,000 shares pursuant to the
Plan, unless an extension of the Plan is approved by the stockholders of the
Company. In any event, the Plan will not continue beyond December 31, 2008. The
Company currently has no intention of terminating the Plan.



                                                                               7

<PAGE>   8



                            SAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
                          EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                    NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)


2.        SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

The costs of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company unless and
until a participant receives written notice of the impositions of administrative
costs, with such costs to begin effective with the next offering as described in
Note 1. Currently, the Company pays all administrative fees and costs associated
with the Plan. Brokerage fees or commissions when Class A Common Stock is sold
are paid by the participants.

USE OF ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and
accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

FAIR VALUE OF INVESTMENT

The fair value of common stock held in the Plan is based on the quoted market
price of the Company's Class A Common Stock on the last business day of the plan
year.

3.       INCOME TAX STATUS

The Plan qualifies as an employee stock purchase plan under Section 423 of the
Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") which allows employees to purchase stock at a
discount without immediate taxation on the amount of the discount. The plan is
not subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).




                                                                               8


<PAGE>   9



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit

23(a)    Consent of Ernst & Young LLP


                                                                               9

<PAGE>   10


                                   SIGNATURES


      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
administrator of the Plan has duly caused this annual report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                                  SAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
                                                  EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN


Date:  March 29, 2001                             /s/ Marcia K. Lobaito
                                                  ----------------------------
                                                  Marcia K. Lobaito
                                                  Plan Administrator



                                                                              10

</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-23.(A)
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>b38743scex23a.txt
<DESCRIPTION>CONSENT OF ERNST & YOUNG L.P
<TEXT>

<PAGE>   1


Exhibit 23 - Consent of Independent Auditors



We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form
S-8 No. 333-85535) pertaining to the Employee Stock Purchase Plan of Saga
Communications, Inc. of our report dated March 6, 2001, with respect to the
financial statements of the Saga Communications, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase
Plan included in this Annual Report (Form 11-K) for the year ended December 31,
2000.

                                                     /s/ Ernst & Young LLP

March 29, 2001
Detroit, Michigan




                                                                              11
</TEXT>
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