LIN Media has named Helen Swenson president and general manager of Birmingham, AL, CBS affiliate WIAT.
The move had been rumored after former GM Bill Ballard’s contract wasn’t renewed.
Most recently Swenson was the senior vice president of Live Programming for The Weather Channel. Before coming to The Weather Channel she was the senior multimedia consultant for Frank N. Magid Associates. She has also held management positions at local TV stations in Pittsburgh, Miami and West Palm Beach, FL, including a stint as news director for KIRO in Seattle.
“Helen is a highly strategic and skilled broadcast executive with a proven track record of achieving growth by developing innovative and superior products that better meet the needs of our viewers and advertisers, ” Scott Blumenthal LIN Media’s executive vice president of Television said in a statement. “We are pleased that she is stepping into the leadership role at WIAT.”