• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 6, 2012

Hearst Television top executive David Barrett gave another indication Thursday that Jordan Wertlieb -- who also once served as general manager of Baltimore’s WBAL -- would be his successor. Wertlieb was named president of the station group, while CEO Barrett added the chairman’s title.

Last year, Wertlieb moved to headquarters as executive vice president of the company, where he oversaw some of the 29 stations and had corporate responsibilities.

Barrett stated that he and Wertlieb have worked together partly to bolster Hearst’s digital offerings, while 2013 was a “tremendous year of growth in terms of revenue.” That’s not surprising, considering that Hearst has a slew of stations in markets ripe for heavy political spending -- Tampa, Orlando and Cincinnati, for example -- and 10 NBC affiliates that benefited from the Olympics.

Barrett has held the president’s title since 2001, along with CEO, after many years in corporate roles. Hearst Television is private now, but was a public entity under Barrett for eight years, where he did not hesitate to jab networks on investor calls.

Wertlieb was president and general manager of WBAL, an NBC affiliate, for six years and has been with Hearst since 1993.