EXHIBIT 31.2

**CERTIFICATIONS**

**Certification of Chief Financial Officer and  Executive Vice President** 

I, Harry T. Hawks, certify that:

| 1.     |     | I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Hearst-Argyle      Television, Inc. (the “registrant”);                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
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| 2.     |               | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any        untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary        to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which        such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered        by this report; |
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| 3.     |               | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other      financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material      respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of      the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;                                 |
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| 4.     |               | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible      for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as      defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d -15(e)) for the registrant      and have:                                                                                  |

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      (a) Designed such disclosure    controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures    to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information    relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made    known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period    in which this report is being prepared;

      (b) Evaluated the effectiveness    of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this    report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls    and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on    such evaluation; and

      (c) Disclosed in this    report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting    that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has    materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s    internal control over financial reporting; and

| 5. |    | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed,      based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,      to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s      board of directors: |
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    (a) All significant deficiencies and    material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial    reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s    ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

      (b) Any fraud, whether or not    material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant    role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: April 29, 2004 

|                                                                                |   | /s/ HARRY T. HAWKSHarry T. HawksChief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President |
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