WBAL Baltimore President/GM Bill Fine is returning to his native Boston to run sister station WCVB.
Both WBAL and WCVB are owned by Hearst-Argyle Television.
On Aug. 1, Fine will take over as WCVB's general manager from Paul La Camera, a longtime station veteran who is currently president and GM.
La Camera will remain president until the end of the year, when he will retire and Fine will take that title as well. Hearst-Argyle says La Camera will remain a consultant for its station group.
This will be Fine's second tour at WCVB. He served as VP and general sales manager from 1996 to 1998, when he moved to Baltimore to run WBAL. There, he led the station in a tough news battle with CBS-owned WJZ. The two compete vigorously in ratings. In May, WBAL won early evening news and late news, Monday-Sunday. It finished second to WJZ in early morning and weekday late news.
In Boston, Fine will find a similarly close race. WCVB is neck-and-neck with Sunbeam Broadcasting's NBC affiliate and CBS-owned WBZ.
La Camera has been President/GM since 1997. He has worked at WCVB since its first day, starting as public-affairs director in 1972. His father, Anthony, was a highly regarded Boston TV critic.
