WCVB-TV's Paul La Camera Announces His Retirement as General Manager of Boston's TV News Leader

WCVB-TV's Paul La Camera Announces His Retirement as General Manager of Boston's TV News Leader

Bill Fine Named Successor

NEW YORK and BOSTON, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paul La Camera, one of America's most accomplished and prominent television executives, has announced his retirement from the post of President and General Manager of WCVB-TV, the Hearst-Argyle Television ABC affiliate in Boston, effective December 31, 2005. La Camera will be succeeded by Bill Fine, a former Vice President and General Sales Manager at WCVB, who has served as President and General Manager of WBAL-TV, Baltimore, since 1998.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050615/NYW089-ahttp://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050615/NYW089-b )

Fine will take on duties as Executive Vice President and General Manager of WCVB effective August 1, 2005, and La Camera will serve as President of WCVB until year-end, at which time Fine will assume the title of President. La Camera will play a continuing role as a consultant and advisor to WCVB and Hearst-Argyle.

"Paul La Camera has been a giant in New England broadcasting for more than 30 years, leading WCVB to a place of great prominence in local and national broadcasting," said David J. Barrett, Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer. "WCVB was built on a bedrock of localism, news and community service and has long been recognized as one of America's finest TV stations. Paul was with the station in its first days and helped guide the station to many of its proudest achievements. His is a respected voice in the Boston community and throughout our industry; he is a remarkable leader and person, and I'm looking forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with him as he moves into his new advisory role with the station and our company.

"WCVB's newscasts and local programming, and its citizenship, have earned the approval not only of viewers but of its peers, and the station has earned virtually every major broadcast journalism and public-service award that any one station can receive," Barrett added. "WCVB's local newscasts have consistently delivered top ratings and 'Chronicle,' its award-winning daily local newsmagazine program, continues to win its highly competitive prime-time 'access' timeslot even as it approaches the quarter-century mark -- an impressive achievement for a locally-produced newsmagazine.

"Paul passes the baton to his longtime friend and colleague Bill Fine, who in his own right is an accomplished and seasoned broadcast executive," Barrett continued. "The fact that Paul served as a mentor to Bill during Bill's many years at WCVB is one among many reasons that Bill is such a logical choice for Paul's successor. Bill has led WBAL-TV to undisputed news leadership in a very competitive TV market, achieving record financial performance year after year. WBAL-TV's journalistic excellence was awarded with a Peabody last month for investigative reporting."

Added La Camera, "Bill is a Bostonian, and he's coming home to continue the good work of this station. WCVB is in a really good place right now, and Bill's the right person to provide the kind of leadership deserving of New England's leading TV station."

Noted Fine, "I'm especially humbled to be following Paul La Camera, a career-long friend and mentor who has always been supportive to me and my family. Paul is the epitome of a successful broadcaster and it is a bit intimidating to follow in his footsteps. Coming home to Boston, with the opportunity to once again work with the incredible staff at WCVB, is extremely exciting for me and my family and a true honor."

About Paul La Camera

La Camera served as WCVB's Station Manager from 1988 until his 1994 appointment as Vice President and General Manager. He was named President of WCVB in September 1997. He hails from a family steeped in television. For 30 years, his late father Anthony La Camera was the distinguished dean of American television critics, writing for the Hearst-owned Boston Record American and Sunday Advertiser and its successor, the Boston Herald American. Prior to joining WCVB, Paul La Camera was Director of Communications for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and worked as a reporter for the Boston Record American and Sunday Advertiser.

La Camera is a board member of Boston's Catholic Charities, the Boston Public Library Foundation, the Boston Medical Center, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He is vice chairman of the national affiliate board for the ABC network. Previously, La Camera served as president of both the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association and the National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs.

La Camera also served on the White House Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters, known as the "Gore Commission" for the then-vice president's role. He has testified on local television issues before both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. House Telecommunications Subcommittee.

La Camera is a graduate of The College of the Holy Cross, where he serves as a trustee. He holds a Masters in Journalism and Urban Studies from Boston University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston College. He was honored in 1992 as a distinguished alumnus of Boston University's College of Communication and in 2000 with the Sanctae Crucis Alumnus Award from his college alma mater, and received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Boston's Emmanuel College.

Under La Camera's leadership, WCVB was New England's first digital TV station and among the first nationally to produce local high-definition programming; it was the region's first TV station to introduce Spanish- language closed-captioning for newscasts; and was the first station nationwide to pledge five minutes' nightly candidate discourse in the 30 days leading up to elections as recommended by the Gore Commission -- a pledge that became the cornerstone of Hearst-Argyle's award-winning Commitment 2000 election-coverage effort, subsequently renewed through 2004 and continuing on today. The station has earned the Peabody, the duPont-Columbia journalism award, the Walter Cronkite Award, the Gabriel Award and the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation Service to America Award, among other prestigious national journalism and public-service honors, and is New England's -- and one of America's -- most honored commercial TV stations in terms of local, regional and national awards. In 1981, The New York Times declared WCVB-TV "the best television station in America." In 2005, WCVB was the inaugural profile for Broadcasting & Cable magazine's series on "local legends" in TV broadcasting.

About Bill Fine

Fine has since 1998 served as President and General Manager of WBAL-TV, where he had served earlier in his career. Before that, he was Vice President and General Sales Manager of WCVB-TV. Fine began his career as Sports Director of WPTZ-TV, today a Hearst-Argyle station, in the Burlington, VT/Plattsburgh, NY market before joining the station's sales department as an account executive. While Sports Director, Fine interviewed many of the eventual members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team. After serving as an account executive at TeleRep, Inc. in New York, he became an account executive and National and Local Sales Manager for WCVB-TV, and subsequently became General Sales Manager of WBAL-TV before returning to WCVB in that position in 1996. A 28-year television veteran, Fine graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University's College of Communication with a major in Broadcasting and Film and Broadcast Journalism.

Fine serves on the Board of Visitors for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. He is also a board member of the Greater Baltimore Committee; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Signal 13, Inc.; and Pride of Baltimore II.

Fine is the immediate past President of the Advertising Association of Baltimore, and served four years on the Chesapeake Region 2012 Olympic Coalition Board of Directors, seeking to bring the 2012 Summer Olympic games to the region. Baltimore City Mayors Kurt Schmoke and Martin O'Malley also nominated him to two terms on the board of the Baltimore Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Baltimore Magazine honored Fine as Baltimore's "Best CEO" in 2000, while Baltimore Smart CEO Magazine selected him as one of the region's "25 Leaders We Admire" in 2005.

Fine currently serves on the National Association of Broadcasters' Copyright Royalty Arbitration Panel, and he is a past director of the Television Bureau of Advertising and Chairman of its Sales Advisory Committee; a past Chairman of the ABC Television Network's Sales Advisory Committee; a First Vice President of the New England Broadcasting Association; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Advertising Club of Greater Boston. In 2004, he was presented with the American Advertising Federation's Silver Medal Award for "Outstanding Contributions to Advertising."

Under Fine's leadership, WBAL-TV received a 2004 Peabody for its "Chesapeake Bay Pollution Investigation" and a third place finish as the "Nation's Best Newscast" in prestigious National Headliner Awards competition. In 2001, MediaWeek magazine named WBAL-TV one of America's top "Ten Stations That Do It Right." WBAL-TV consistently boasts the market's top rated newscast at 5, 6 and 11 pm, in addition to weekend mornings and evenings.

About Hearst-Argyle

Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. owns 25 television stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio stations, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of the largest U.S. television station groups. The Company owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner. Hearst-Argyle also owns 12 ABC affiliated stations, and manages an additional ABC station owned by The Hearst Corporation, and is the largest ABC affiliate group. The Company also owns two CBS affiliates and a WB affiliate, and manages a UPN affiliate and an independent station.

Hearst-Argyle also is a leader in the convergence of local broadcast television and the Internet through its partnership with Internet Broadcasting Systems, and in the application of digital broadcast spectrum for new local informational services through its Weather Plus partnership with NBC and various NBC affiliate groups.

Hearst-Argyle is majority owned by The Hearst Corporation. Hearst-Argyle Series A Common Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTV." HTV debt is rated investment grade by Moody's (Baa3), Standard & Poor's (BBB-) and Fitch (BBB-), each with a stable outlook. The company's Web address is http://www.hearstargyle.com/ .

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050615/NYW089-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050615/NYW089-b
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN2-3
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.

CONTACT: Thomas W. Campo of Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.,
+1-212-887-6827, tcampo@hearst.com

Web site: http://www.hearstargyle.com/

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