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| founded = | founded =
| airdate = December 15, 1956 | airdate = December 15, 1956
| location = ] / ] /<br>] | location = ] - ] -<br>]
| callsign_meaning = '''RAL'''eigh | callsign_meaning = '''RAL'''eigh
| owner = ] | owner = ]
| sister_stations = ]<br />]<br />] | sister_stations = ]<br />]<br />]
| former_affiliations = ] (1956–1962; secondary 1962-1968)<br />] (secondary 1959–1962; primary 1962–1985) | former_affiliations = ] (primary 1956–1962, secondary 1962-1968)<br />] (secondary 1958–1962, primary 1962–1985)
| former_channel_numbers = Analog:<br>5 (], 1956–2009)<br>Digital:<br>32 (UHF, 1996–2000)<br>53 (UHF, 2000–2009) | former_channel_numbers = '''Analog:'''<br>5 (], 1956–2009)<br>'''Digital:'''<br>32 (UHF, 1996–2000)<br>53 (UHF, 2000–2009)
| effective_radiated_power = 1,000 kW (digital) | effective_radiated_power = 1,000 kW (digital)
| HAAT = 629 m (digital) | HAAT = 629 m (digital)
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The station's first broadcast was on December 15, 1956 that was an airing of the 1947 movie '']''. Alfred Johnson "A.J." Fletcher's Capitol Broadcasting, which began in 1939 with WRAL radio (1240 AM, now ]), had won the license in something of an upset over the much larger ], owners of the Triangle's oldest continuous radio station, ].<ref>"Peoria, Springfield, Raleigh TV grants Issued by FCC" '']'', July 2, 1956, pg. 9. </ref> The station's first broadcast was on December 15, 1956 that was an airing of the 1947 movie '']''. Alfred Johnson "A.J." Fletcher's Capitol Broadcasting, which began in 1939 with WRAL radio (1240 AM, now ]), had won the license in something of an upset over the much larger ], owners of the Triangle's oldest continuous radio station, ].<ref>"Peoria, Springfield, Raleigh TV grants Issued by FCC" '']'', July 2, 1956, pg. 9. </ref>


At its launch channel 5 was originally an ] affiliate, taking that network from Durham-based ] (channel 11, which counted Fletcher's son, Floyd, among its founders). When WNAO-TV (channel 28), the Triangle's ] affiliate, went dark in 1957, WRAL shared ABC with WTVD until August 1, 1962, at which point channel 5 took the ABC affiliation full-time.<ref>"ABC-TV acquires two new primary affiliates." ''Broadcasting'', May 7, 1962, pg. 80. </ref> This was somewhat unusual for a two-station market and the reason for this is still not clear to this day. ABC was not on an equal footing with NBC and CBS, in terms of both ratings and affiliated stations, until the early 1970s. WTVD shoehorned NBC and CBS programming onto its schedule until 1971 when WRDU-TV, which began operations in 1968 on channel 28, finally got the exclusive NBC affiliation.<ref>"One (network) to a customer." ''Broadcasting'', March 29, 1971, pg. 67. </ref> Ironically, Durham Life bought WRDU in 1978 and changed its call letters to WPTF-TV (it is now ] affiliate ], owned by the ]). At its launch channel 5 was originally an ] affiliate, taking that network from Durham-based ] (channel 11, which counted Fletcher's son, Floyd, among its founders). When WNAO-TV (channel 28), the Triangle's ] affiliate, went dark at the end of 1957<ref>"WNAO-TV to go black, joins WTOB-TV in Ch. 8 shift plea." ''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', December 30, 1957, pg. 10. </ref>, WRAL shared ABC with WTVD until August 1, 1962, at which point channel 5 took the ABC affiliation full-time.<ref>"ABC-TV acquires two new primary affiliates." ''Broadcasting'', May 7, 1962, pg. 80. </ref> This was somewhat unusual for a two-station market and the reason for this is still not clear to this day. ABC was not on an equal footing with NBC and CBS, in terms of both ratings and affiliated stations, until the early 1970s. WTVD shoehorned NBC and CBS programming onto its schedule until 1971 when WRDU-TV, which began operations in 1968 on channel 28, finally got the exclusive NBC affiliation.<ref>"One (network) to a customer." ''Broadcasting'', March 29, 1971, pg. 67. </ref> Ironically, Durham Life bought WRDU in 1978 and changed its call letters to WPTF-TV (it is now ] affiliate ], owned by the ]).


From 1960 until his election to the ] in 1972, ] was a regular ] ] on WRAL-TV's news broadcasts. In fact, because his politically conservative commentaries became so popular, WRAL pushed up the starting time of the ABC evening network newscasts (or, for a time in the late 1960s, NBC's '']'') to give Helms a ten-minute nightly program to himself. This had political implications for Triangle-area viewers because the newsmen usually gave commentaries during the part of the newscast that WRAL cut off. All the ABC and NBC commentators were staunch supporters of the ] and other liberal positions, all things Helms strongly opposed. Despite this ''de facto'' censorship, neither ABC nor NBC ever took retributive action against the station, nor did other parties complain to the ] about WRAL doing this. From 1960 until his election to the ] in 1972, ] was a regular ] ] on WRAL-TV's news broadcasts. In fact, because his politically conservative commentaries became so popular, WRAL pushed up the starting time of the ABC evening network newscasts (or, for a time in the late 1960s, NBC's '']'') to give Helms a ten-minute nightly program to himself. This had political implications for Triangle-area viewers because the newsmen usually gave commentaries during the part of the newscast that WRAL cut off. All the ABC and NBC commentators were staunch supporters of the ] and other liberal positions, all things Helms strongly opposed. Despite this ''de facto'' censorship, neither ABC nor NBC ever took retributive action against the station, nor did other parties complain to the ] about WRAL doing this.

Revision as of 23:40, 21 July 2012

For the FM Radio station in Raleigh, see WRAL-FM.

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WRAL building

WRAL-TV, virtual channel 5 (digital channel 48), is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company since its inception, and is currently the CBS affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Fayetteville area, known collectively as the Triangle television marketing area. The station has its office and studio facilities in Raleigh with transmitter located in Auburn, North Carolina.

WRAL-TV is co-owned with radio stations WRAL-FM (101.5 MHz) and WCMC-FM (99.9 MHz), and Fox affiliate WRAZ (channel 50). Though most of WRAZ's operations are based at WRAL-TV's studios, WRAZ has its own facilities in downtown Durham. WRAL-TV is available on cable channel 3 in most of the Triangle, except in outlying areas of the market, where it is available on channel 5. It is also available on cable in large portions of eastern areas of the state.

History

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The station's first broadcast was on December 15, 1956 that was an airing of the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street. Alfred Johnson "A.J." Fletcher's Capitol Broadcasting, which began in 1939 with WRAL radio (1240 AM, now WPJL), had won the license in something of an upset over the much larger Durham Life Insurance Company, owners of the Triangle's oldest continuous radio station, WPTF.

At its launch channel 5 was originally an NBC affiliate, taking that network from Durham-based WTVD (channel 11, which counted Fletcher's son, Floyd, among its founders). When WNAO-TV (channel 28), the Triangle's ABC affiliate, went dark at the end of 1957, WRAL shared ABC with WTVD until August 1, 1962, at which point channel 5 took the ABC affiliation full-time. This was somewhat unusual for a two-station market and the reason for this is still not clear to this day. ABC was not on an equal footing with NBC and CBS, in terms of both ratings and affiliated stations, until the early 1970s. WTVD shoehorned NBC and CBS programming onto its schedule until 1971 when WRDU-TV, which began operations in 1968 on channel 28, finally got the exclusive NBC affiliation. Ironically, Durham Life bought WRDU in 1978 and changed its call letters to WPTF-TV (it is now MyNetworkTV affiliate WRDC-TV, owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group).

From 1960 until his election to the United States Senate in 1972, Jesse Helms was a regular editorial commentator on WRAL-TV's news broadcasts. In fact, because his politically conservative commentaries became so popular, WRAL pushed up the starting time of the ABC evening network newscasts (or, for a time in the late 1960s, NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report) to give Helms a ten-minute nightly program to himself. This had political implications for Triangle-area viewers because the newsmen usually gave commentaries during the part of the newscast that WRAL cut off. All the ABC and NBC commentators were staunch supporters of the Civil Rights Movement and other liberal positions, all things Helms strongly opposed. Despite this de facto censorship, neither ABC nor NBC ever took retributive action against the station, nor did other parties complain to the Federal Communications Commission about WRAL doing this.

In 1985, WTVD's owner, Capital Cities Communications, purchased ABC, resulting in WTVD becoming an ABC owned and operated station. The CBS affiliation moved to WRAL-TV on August 4, 1985. Within six months of the switch, WRAL-TV had become one of the strongest CBS affiliates in network's chain.

In December 1989, WRAL was knocked off the air when a severe ice storm caused the station's 2,000-foot (610 m) tower to collapse. Within hours, channel 5 cut a deal with the then-struggling Fayetteville station WKFT-TV (now WUVC-TV), allowing WRAL to return to the air in only three hours. WKFT ran the entire WRAL schedule during this time. The station's new, stronger tower was launched on October 25, 1990, at which point WKFT reverted to airing its own programming.

In the early 1990s, WRAL broadcasted its programming via C-Band satellite as part of the Primetime 24 package. That offered network affiliates to viewers in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as the few rural areas of the United States and Canada where local signals were not available. It was replaced in the late 1990s with fellow CBS affiliate WSEE-TV from Erie, Pennsylvania.

WRAL-TV is still viewed and is quite popular with many outside of the Raleigh-Durham TV Market, mainly in portions of the Piedmont Triad, Eastern North Carolina, and even into parts of Southside Virginia and the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. The popularity of WRAL outside of the Raleigh market, especially in the Triad, Eastern North Carolina, and Southside Virginia, stems from WRAL's advanced technology in news gathering and weather coverage, which has largely been unmatched by broadcasters in other markets. The station is also known for its award winning documentaries, children's shows, and news staff, which has attracted viewers from outside of the Raleigh market. Halifax County in Southside Virginia is frequently mentioned by WRAL, although they are not part of the Raleigh market.

Digital Television

On June 19, 1996, the Federal Communications Commission awarded WRAL-TV the first experimental high-definition television license in the United States. The station, identified as WRAL-HD, began digital television operations on channel 32 over a month later, on July 23, 1996. The station moved to channel 53 in March 2000.

WRAL-TV was the first in the United States to broadcast live sports program in high-definition (on September 6, 1997), as well as the first HD newscast (on October 28, 1998). CBS utilized WRAL-HD in testing its own high-definition programming some time later, and starting in 1999 began providing the station with a regular schedule of primetime programs in HD. HD Sports programing recorded by WRAL was provided to other model stations as well. WRAL-TV's pioneering efforts in digital television has won wide recognition from within the television industry

WRAL's digital signal, on UHF 48, is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect Programming
5.1 1080i 16:9 Main WRAL-TV programming / CBS
5.2 480i 4:3 This TV

As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion was completed, WRAL-TV shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 at 12:55 PM. The station's digital broadcasts remained on channel 48. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers continue to display WRAL's virtual channel as 5.1

Programming

WRAL has aired the entire CBS program schedule since the late-1990s. The only exceptions involves ACC football and basketball from Raycom Sports, both of which have aired on the station since 1982; with the digital age, ACC pre-empted CBS programming airs either as originally scheduled on This 5.2 or overnights on the main signal. Also, Cupid, a 2003 reality show was not aired, as were some controversial shows on sister station WRAZ, and WRAL is one of a few CBS affiliates in the nation that does not carry an hour of CBS's Weekend Children's Programming Block. WRAL is one of the few CBS affiliates that shows The Young and the Restless from 4 to 5 P.M. as a lead in to its 5 p.m. newscast. Most CBS stations air Y&R from 12:30 to 1:30, but in the case of WRAL, the timeslot switch occurred in January 1993. This happened because the station's sitcom reruns (the show being run at the time was an hour block of The Golden Girls) were having no luck against The Oprah Winfrey Show on WTVD.

WRAL has broadcast memorable locally-produced children's programming throughout its storied history. Its most famous and longest-running is Time for Uncle Paul (1961–1981) starring Paul Montgomery. He had played various other characters on other local shows before getting his own program. He voluntarily ended his program after station management suggested a change to an educational format.

Soon after, WRAL continued to produce acclaimed educational children's shows such as Frog Hollow, Sparks, and The Androgena Show. Today, WRAL continues to produce educational programs with such shows as Smart Start Kids and Brain Game.

WRAL announced on February 1, 2006 that it would begin to simulcast all of its programming on the Internet to computer users in the Triangle. This signified the latest advances in technology-driven delivery of product by a local television station. A few months later, WRAL was selected to be the flagship station for North Carolina Education Lottery drawings (twice daily for certain games, with the multi-jurisdictional Mega Millions Tuesday and Friday nights, and Powerball Wednesdays and Saturdays.) On December 3, 2007, WRAL became the first local television station to stream live video to mobile phones.

News operation

WRAL has the highest rated television news organizations in the area winning numerous regional Emmys. Most recently, WRAL and wral.com were nominated 29 times for Mid South Regional Emmys. The station has been the highest-rated station in the Triangle for most of the time since the 1970s.

Until his retirement on July 1, 1994, Charlie Gaddy co-anchored newscasts alongside Bobbie Battista, Adele Arakawa (now with KUSA-TV in Denver), Donna Gregory (who now works for NBC), and Pam Saulsby. Today Saulsby, along with current co-anchor David Crabtree (who replaced Gaddy in 1994), chief meteorologist Greg Fishel (who took over for retiring Bob DeBardelaben in 1989), and sportcaster Tom Suiter, is a part of the longest-running on-air news team (news, weather, and sports) in the Triangle and one of the longest-running news teams in the state. Tom Suiter stepped down from his sports anchor duties on December 18, 2008 following the 6pm newscast and was replaced by Jeff Gravely, currently a sports reporter and anchor for the 10pm news on WRAZ.

WRAL reporter Adam Owens in Chapel Hill

In August 1998, WRAL began to produce newscasts on WRAZ. That station usually simulcasts local breaking news coverage from WRAL. For national breaking news, WRAZ carries Fox News coverage while WRAL carries CBS News. Otherwise, WRAZ may broadcast CBS programming in case WRAL cannot do so as in news-related emergencies. The WRAZ broadcasts include weekday mornings at 7 for two hours and half-hour broadcasts at 10 on weeknights as well as weekends. The newscasts are simulcasted on WRAL's second digital subchannel.

WRAL was the first commercial station to go on the air with high-definition television when it obtained an experimental HD transmission license from the FCC in 1996. In 2000, WRAL aired the world's first all high definition newscast on October 13. In January 2001, WRAL converted all of its news gathering and broadcasts to all digital high definition. The WRAZ newscasts are broadcast in high definition as well. On December 15, 2006, WRAL had a special "reunion" newscast at 6 o'clock with Gaddy, Battista, DeBardelaben, and Suiter reprising their roles once again. This commemorated the station's 50th anniversary. On October 10, 2007, the WRAL sports department launched a sports talk radio station, WCMC-FM (known as 99.9 The Fan). It is now is the only FM sports talk station in the area and broadcasts in high definition. This station was previously known as 99.9 Genuine Country.

WRAL's newscasts are simulcast with local weather inserts on another sister station, WILM-LD in Wilmington. WRAL is one of a growing number of local news stations in the United States to have its own application for the iPhone. The application offers News Stories, Weather, Sports, Video, and other features. At one point, the WRAL application was the fifth most popular news application in the App Store.

Sky 5

In 1979, the station became the state's first to begin using a helicopter, known as "Sky 5". The Hughes 500 helicopter N8624F was piloted by Mike Allen and painted in the livery of the Saudi Arabian Air Force with Sky 5 graphics added, reflecting the original customer before the sale fell through and WRAL purchased it for newsgathering.

The current Bell 407 helicopter was purchased for $2 million in 2000. The N553HD tail number represents the station's channel, that this is the 3rd news gathering helicopter for the station and WRAL's role in pioneering high definition broadcasting. The aircraft is piloted by Steve Wiley, who has flown for the station for 24 years. Today, the aircraft is normally stored at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport but a helipad is available on the roof above Capitol Broadcasting President's office in the WRAL buildings in downtown Raleigh. The helicopter is equipped with $600,000 worth of video equipment including cameras installed on the tail, 2 in the cabin and a gyroscope controlled high definition camera under the nose, all of which can be controlled from the rear of the aircraft by a videographer. WRAL modified the helicopter to reach speeds of 130 miles per hour providing access to anywhere in the triangle within 7 minutes..

In over 30 years of electronic news gathering using helicopters, WRAL has had no significant incidents and remains one of the few stations to own rather than lease their helicopter. Sky-5 has also participated in numerous search and rescue operations over the years at the request of local emergency officials before returning to news gathering duties.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

  • Stateline/Dateline (1956–1965)
  • Dateline (1965–1972)
  • TV-5 Action News (1972–1976)
  • Action News 5 (1976–1988)
  • WRAL-TV News (1988–1989)
  • WRAL-TV 5 News (1989–2003)
  • WRAL News (2003–present)

Station slogans

  • The One & Only TV-5 (1977–1981)
  • TV-5's The One You Can Turn To (1978-1979)
  • The News People (late 1970s-early 1980s)
  • The Place to Be! (1984–1990)
  • Your 24-Hour News Source (1990–1991)
  • North Carolina's News Leader (1991–2004)
  • Coverage You Can Count On (1998–present)

News team

Current on-air staff

Current Anchors

  • Kelcey Carlson - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 on WRAL and 7:00-9:00 a.m. on WRAZ); also reporter
  • Renee Chou - Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 10:00 (on WRAZ) and 11:00 p.m.; also weekday reporter
  • David Crabtree - weeknights at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.
  • Sloane Heffernan - weekend mornings (6:00-8:00 Saturdays & 7:00-9:00 a.m. Sundays); also weekday reporter
  • Jackie Hyland - weeknights at 5:30 and 10:00 p.m. (on WRAZ)
  • Bill Leslie - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 on WRAL and 7:00-9:00 a.m. on WRAZ) and weekdays at noon
  • Debra Morgan - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
  • Gerald Owens - weeknights at 5:30, 10:00 (on WRAZ) and 11:00 p.m.
  • Ken Smith - Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 10:00 (on WRAZ) and 11:00 p.m.; also weeknight reporter

Weather Center Team

  • Greg Fishel (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
  • Nate Johnson (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - executive producer
  • Aimee Wilmoth - Meteorologist; Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 10:00 (on WRAZ) and 11:00 p.m.
  • Elizabeth Gardner (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 on WRAL and 7:00-9:00 a.m. on WRAZ) and weekdays at noon
  • Mike Maze (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weeknights at 5:30 and 10:00 p.m. (on WRAZ)
  • Mike Moss (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings (6:00-8:00 Saturdays & 7:00-9:00 a.m. Sundays)

Sports Team

  • Jeff Gravley - sports anchor; weeknights at 6:00, 10:00 (on WRAZ) and 11:00 p.m.
  • Ken Medlin - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.; also sports reporter
  • Jason Jennings - sports reporter
  • Mandy Mitchell - sports reporter
  • Brad Simmons - sports producer
  • Tom Suiter - "Football Friday" anchor/producer

Reporters

  • Rick Armstrong
  • Cullen Browder (Investigative Reporter)
  • Stacy Davis
  • Erin Hartness
  • Kevin Holmes
  • Monica Laliberte - "5 on Your Side" consumer reporter
  • Amanda Lamb
  • Dr. Allen Mask - "WRAL Health Team" reporter
  • Scott Mason - The Tar Heel Traveler
  • Bruce Mildwurf
  • Bryan Mims
  • Beau Minnick
  • Adam Owens
  • Brian Shrader - weekday morning traffic (4:30-7:00 a.m. on WRAL and 7:00-9:00 a.m. on WRAZ) and WRAL.com reporter

Notable former staff

  • Adele Arakawa - former co-anchor (1983–1989, now at KUSA-TV in Denver)
  • Curt Autry - weekend anchor/reporter (1991–1994, now at WWBT in Richmond)
  • Jim Axelrod - political reporter (1993–1996, now with CBS News)
  • John Bachman - anchor/reporter (2003–2007, now at WSB-TV in Atlanta)
  • Sam Beard - news anchor during the 1960s and early 1970s (deceased)
  • Bret Baier - reporter (mid-1990s, now with Fox News Channel)
  • Bobbie Battista - former co-anchor (1976–1981, joined CNN in 1982), now at The Onion News Network, the online news-satirical group.
  • Sandra Bookman - weekend anchor/reporter (1985–1989, now at WABC-TV in New York)
  • Denice Boyer - anchor/reporter (1980s)
  • Rich Brenner - Sports Anchor (1970s-1982)(deceased)
  • Susan Brozek - reporter (1985–1988, now Senior Producer/Local Programming at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh)
  • Dale Cardwell - reporter (1985–1991, later at WSB-TV in Atlanta. Democratic candidate for US Senate, 2008)
  • Bob Caudle - news and weather anchor/wrestling announcer
  • Stacey Cameron - reporter (2008–2009, now chief investigative reporter at KCTV5 in Kansas City))
  • Laurie Clowers - morning anchor/reporter (1998–2006, now PR director at Wake Technical Community College)
  • Erin Coleman - weekend anchor/reporter (2000s, now at WSB-TV in Atlanta)
  • Ned Colt - (now an NBC News Correspondent)
  • Paul Crawley - reporter (1976–1978, now at WXIA-TV in Atlanta)
  • Susan Dahlin - PM Magazine host/entertainment reporter (1980–1998)
  • Ann Devlin - reporter/anchor (1981–1983)
  • Bob DeBardelaben - former off-camera announcer and weather anchor (1963–1989)
  • David Eichorn - meteorologist (1985–1989)now with WSYR-TV, Syracuse
  • Bette Elliott - longtime host of women's program Femme Fare (1962–1975, deceased)
  • Charlie Gaddy - anchorman (1970–1994)
  • Donna Gregory - originated WRAL's 5:30 p.m. newscast (1988–1995, now with NBC News)
  • Terri Gruca - reporter (1994–1997), now anchor at KVUE-TV in Austin
  • Don Griffin - consumer reporter/weekend anchor (1976–1982, now at WSOC-TV in Charlotte)
  • Angela Hampton - reporter (1993–1994, now at WTVD)
  • Jesse Helms - general manager, commentator (1960–1972, later US Senator, deceased)
  • John Hudson - morning/noon anchor (1983–1989, deceased)
  • Bob Johnston- anchor/reporter (1970's)
  • Shelley Kofler - reporter (1981–1985) now news director, KERA-TV, Dallas
  • Lauren Krause - weekend anchor/reporter (1994–2000)
  • Tom Lawrence - off-camera announcer/technology reporter (1980s through early 2000s)
  • J.D. Lewis - host of Teenage Frolics and editorialist (1958–1983, deceased)
  • Todd Lewis - reporter (1996–1999)
  • Emily Lopez - reporter
  • Ed McIntyre - anchor/reporter (1970s)
  • Paul Montgomery - star of Time for Uncle Paul (1956–1981, deceased)
  • Renee McCoy - reporter anchor (1982–2002) now Public Info Officer NC State DHHS
  • Faith Murphy - reporter (1987–1992)
  • Joe Oliver - anchor/reporter (1984–1988)
  • Nick Pond - sports anchor/wrestling announcer (1957–1971 and 1973–1978, deceased)
  • Ray Reeve - WRAL's first sportscaster (1956–1973, deceased)
  • Mark Roberts - morning traffic reporter/Host of Brain Game
  • Pam Saulsby - anchor/reporter (1991-2011)
  • Stuart Scott - reporter (1988–1990, now with ESPN)
  • Bill Schmidt - meteorologist (1980s)
  • Glenn Schwartz - meteorologist (now with WCAU-TV in Philadelphia)
  • Carol Sbarge - reporter (1986–1992, now with WSB-TV in Atlanta)
  • Rick Sullivan - sports reporter/anchor (1984–1995)
  • Larry Stogner - reporter (1973–1976, now at WTVD)
  • Betsy Sykes - weekend anchor/reporter (1990s)
  • Nina Szlosberg - reporter (circa 1980s, now a member of the N.C. Board of Transportation)
  • Fred Taylor - reporter/anchor (1970–2007)
  • Bob Vernon - noon anchor and off-camera announcer (1989–1995)
  • Franc White - host of The Southern Sportsman (1978–1996) (deceased)
  • Ray Wilkinson - farm news (1963–1995, deceased)
  • Dan Wilkinson - son of Ray Wilkinson, farm news (deceased)
  • Kelly Wright - reporter and weekend anchor (mid-1990s, now with Fox News Channel)

Station coverage

WRAL can be viewed from much of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The official eastern fringe of the Raleigh market is Halifax County and the western fringe is Orange County. The Virginia and South Carolina state lines make up the northern and southern fringe respectively, with the exception of Mecklenburg County, VA. WRAL can be seen well outside of the Raleigh market, with the signal penetrating parts of the Greenville, Greensboro, Wilmington, Charlotte, Roanoke, VA, Richmond, VA, Norfolk, VA and Florence/Myrtle Beach, SC markets. WRAL is viewed as far east as U.S. Highway 17 in the Greenville-Washington-New Bern market, including the city of Greenville. The fringe area of WRAL-DTs signal runs as far east as the western side of Beaufort County.

Significantly viewed by the FCC

In addition to the 19 North Carolina counties in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market, the FCC lists WRAL as significantly viewed in Alamance, Caswell, Duplin, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt, Robeson, and Scotland Counties in North Carolina.

Out-of-market cable carriage

In recent years, WRAL has been carried on cable in multiple areas outside of the Raleigh media market. That includes cable systems within the Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, SC, and Norfolk, VA markets in North Carolina, and the Richmond and Roanoke markets in Virginia.

During the 1970s and 1980s through CATV, WRAL was once carried in even more places. In North Carolina, it was once carried in Burlington, Wadesboro, and Yanceyville. In Virginia, it was once carried in Buena Vista, Danville, and Emporia.

Affiliations with UNC-TV

In recent years WRAL and UNC-TV have teamed up in coproducing programming, such as the 2009 Gubernatorial Inauguration and the 2006 Parade of Sail Tall Ship Show in Beaufort. UNC-TV has, also, begun carrying WRAL's award winning Focal Point documentaries. WRAL has long been a corporate supporter of UNC-TV, often assisting them financially and occasionally with on-air talent during UNC-TV's yearly Festival telethon.

Agricultural coverage

WRAL was one of the first stations in North Carolina to cover agricultural markets and farm news in its regular newscasts. Each day's Noon newscast would have a farm segment where each day's farm commodity prices were broadcast, followed by a feature agricultural story from somewhere in the viewing area or around North Carolina. This grew WRAL's popularity in rural areas and with farmers, especially in Eastern North Carolina. The noon news farm broadcasts were anchored by veteran farm reporter Ray Wilkinson and were stopped in the late 1990s, but farm segments were continued in the evening news broadcasts by Ray's son Dan Wilkinson. After the sudden unexpected death of Dan Wilkinson in October 2003, it was decided not to have a full time farm reporter and frequent agricultural coverage came to an end.

Amenities

Entrance to the WRAL-TV Azalea Garden

The station building, shared by WRAL-TV and WRAZ, and located at 2619 Western Blvd in Raleigh, adjacent to the North Carolina State University campus, is a modern and open-designed structure and grounds. The property features a fountain visible from the roadway near the building entrance, and a large garden in the back of the property, including many varieties of azaleas and other flowering plants including several types of dogwoods. The garden is a popular public attraction, especially during April when the flowers are at the peak of blooming.

Awards

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2012)

WRAL was nominated 32 times, tying Nashville station WTVF in the 2012 Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards and won 11. WRAL took home the Emmy for News Excellence, Evening Newscast, Breaking News, Serious Feature News Report, Light Feature News Report, Light Feature News Series, Interactivity, Promo Spot News Same Day, Promo Spot News Image, Graphics Arts, and News Writing. Several of the 2012 Emmys came from coverage of the April 2011 tornadoes that ripped through the area. Parent company Capitol Broadcasting along with the A.J. Fletcher Foundation were awarded the Govenors Award, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' highest honor in 2012 as well.

In 2008, among the 9 Emmy awards received by WRAL and WRAL.com received the inaugural award in Advanced Media for Interactivity for the video player used throughout the website. The station also won a bronze Horizon Interactive Award for their online hurricane tracker. Geoff Levine won the National Press Photographer of the Year award and the station received 6 awards from the North Carolina Associated Press Broadcasters.

WRAL was awarded 9 Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards in 2000 including for documentaries on the Cape Light and coverage of the Special Olympics World Games. Jim Goodmon, president and CEO of WRAL parent company Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award as well.

In 1998 WRAL received 7 Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards including those for best daytime newscast, special event coverage, news magazine, news promotion, public service announcement, and best children's entertainment program.

In 1997 WRAL received 8 Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards including those for news excellence, best newscast, best hard news series and investigative reporting.

WRAL has consistently swept television media categories in the Independent Weekly and Cary News annual Best Of awards voted by readers.

References

  1. "Peoria, Springfield, Raleigh TV grants Issued by FCC" Broadcasting - Telecasting, July 2, 1956, pg. 9.
  2. "WNAO-TV to go black, joins WTOB-TV in Ch. 8 shift plea." Broadcasting - Telecasting, December 30, 1957, pg. 10.
  3. "ABC-TV acquires two new primary affiliates." Broadcasting, May 7, 1962, pg. 80.
  4. "One (network) to a customer." Broadcasting, March 29, 1971, pg. 67.
  5. "In brief." Broadcasting, July 15, 1985, pg. 80.
  6. "History of WRAL Digital". Wral.com. 2006-11-22. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  7. Brinkley, Joel (October 15, 1998). "HDTV's Mixed Signals". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  8. "WRAL goes high tech with news". Fayetteville Observer. Feb 18, 2001. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. "Related Items On Friday, October 13, WRAL's 5:00 News will be the first ever all-high-definition newscast in the world.(WRAL-TV5 News) WRAL to Make History Again with High-Definition Newscast". WRAL. Oct 9, 2000. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  10. "WRAL-DT buses mobile TV test". Broadcast Engineering. Apr 16, 2009.
  11. ^ Cox, Jonathan B. (25 February 2004). "Airborne Newsroom Carries Latest Technology for Raleigh, N.C., TV Station". News and Observer. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  12. "22nd ANNUAL NOMINATIONS". MIDSOUTH REGIONAL EMMY AWARDS. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  13. "WRAL playbook changes: Suiter handing off sports anchor role". WRAL.com. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  14. "WRAL-TV adopts XDCAM HD for ENG, news production". Broadcast Engineering. 2008. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "Capitol Broadcasting Company". Cbc-raleigh.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  16. "FAA Registry (N8624F)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  17. ^ "30 years of Sky 5". WRAL.
  18. ^ "Sky5 Public Affairs feature". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  19. "FAA Registry (N553HD)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  20. Anne Saker and Jonathan B. Cox. "2003: Jim Goodmon - People". NewsObserver.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  21. "People of WRAL". WRAL. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  22. WRAL Revamps Anchors, Weather, Newsroom, TVNewsCheck, September 20, 2011.
  23. http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/significantviewedstations031011.pdf Significant Viewed Stations, FCC
  24. "SVTV Stations - The things you care that others won't". Svtvstations.webs.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  25. Cable Search
  26. "Nashville Chapter!". Nashville.emmyonline.org. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  27. Shraeder, Brian (Jan 30, 2008). "WRAL.com Video Player Wins Emmy Award". WRAL.
  28. "WRAL.com Wins Horizon Award". Cbc-raleigh.com. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  29. "WRAL Named Best Television News Operation by NCAPB". Cbc-raleigh.com. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  30. Gardner, Kelly (February 4, 2000). "WRAL Wins Nine Emmy Awards". WRAL.
  31. "WRAL Emmys". WRAL. anuary 17, 1998. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. "WRAL news team wins 8 Emmy awards". WRAL. February 16, 1997.
  33. "Maggy Awards | Best Media". Cary Magazine. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  34. "Best of the Triangle 2011: Readers' Choice poll winners and finalists | Best of the Triangle | Independent Weekly". Indyweek.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.

External links

Broadcast television in the North Carolina Research Triangle region
This region includes the following cities: Raleigh
Durham
Chapel Hill
Fayetteville
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Charlotte TV
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Piedmont Triad TV
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