Backchannelmedia

The Virginian-Pilot

By Larry Bonko, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Mar. 15--NORFOLK -- The Belo Corp. of Dallas, owner of 19 television stations in the United States, has named Lawrence D. "Nick" Nicholson as president and general manager of its Hampton Roads station, WVEC.

In making the announcement Tuesday, Rick Keilty, a senior Belo vice president and a former general manager of WVEC, said of Nicholson, "He has an impressive 20-year track record in sales and marketing."

Nicholson comes to Norfolk from Tucson, Ariz., where he served as general manager of the duopoly of KMSB, a Fox station, and UPN affiliate KTTU. He succeeds Mario A. Hewitt, who resigned Feb. 8 not long after he was arrested in Virginia Beach on suspicion of drunken driving .

Nicholson, 44, takes over as boss of the ABC affiliate WVEC at a time when the station is riding high in the ratings. Under Hewitt, Channel 13 evolved into the ratings leader at the dinner hour and at noon, finishing first in four of six local newscasts in the February sweeps.

The new general manager, who has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas, has worked in sales at stations in Dallas; Orlando, Fla.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.

Reach Larry Bonko at (757) 446-2486 or larry.bonko@pilotonline.com.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

NYSE:BLC,