WRAL-TV
Encyclopedia
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
5 (digital channel
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
48), is a television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company
Capitol Broadcasting Company
Capitol Broadcasting Company is a TV and radio broadcast company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They also own and operate the minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls.-TV:*WRAL-TV 5...
since its inception, and is currently the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
/Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
/Fayetteville
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
area, known collectively as the Triangle television marketing area. The station has its office and studio facilities in Raleigh with transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
located in Auburn, North Carolina
Auburn, North Carolina
Auburn is an unincorporated community in Wake County, North Carolina, USA, just southeast of Raleigh. It lies about halfway between Garner and Clayton along Old Garner Road, a former alignment of US 70.-Landmarks:...
.
WRAL-TV is co-owned with radio stations WRAL-FM
WRAL-FM
WRAL is an Adult Contemporary music formatted radio station based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its studios are located on Highwoods Boulevard in Raleigh, along with WCMC-FM, a sports talk station that signed on in October 2005...
(101.5 MHz) and WCMC-FM
WCMC-FM
WCMC-FM is a Sports Talk radio station based in Raleigh, North Carolina and licensed to nearby Holly Springs. Its studios are located in downtown Raleigh along with WRAL-FM, an adult contemporary music station...
(99.9 MHz), and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
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
The station's first broadcast was on December 15, 1956 that was an airing of the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th StreetMiracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
. Alfred Johnson "A.J." Fletcher's Capitol Broadcasting, which began in 1939 with WRAL radio (1240 AM, now WPJL
WPJL
WPJL is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Raleigh area. The station is currently owned by WPJL, Inc..-History:...
), 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
WPTF
WPTF, NewsRadio 680, is a talk radio station serving the Triangle area of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group...
.
Channel 5 was originally an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate. When WNAO-TV (channel 28), the Triangle's ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate, went dark in 1957, WRAL shared ABC with Durham-based WTVD
WTVD
WTVD, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Durham, North Carolina. The station serves the areas of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Fayetteville, known as the Triangle...
(which counted Fletcher's son, Floyd, among its founders) until 1962 when it 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 the calls to WPTF-TV (it is now MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WRDC-TV
WRDC-TV
WRDC, channel 28, is an affiliate station of MyNetworkTV in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, North Carolina television market. The station is licensed to Durham, but its studios are in the Highwoods office park just outside downtown Raleigh...
, owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
).
From 1960 until his election to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1972, Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
was a regular editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
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
Huntley-Brinkley Report
The Huntley-Brinkley Report was the NBC television network's flagship evening news program from October 29, 1956 until July 31, 1970. It was anchored by Chet Huntley in New York City, and David Brinkley in Washington, D.C...
) 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
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
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
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
about WRAL doing this.
In 1985, WTVD's owner, Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities redirects here. For the article about the seat of a government, see Capital .Capital Cities Communications was an American media company best known for its surprise purchase of the much larger American Broadcasting Company in 1985...
, 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 had become one of the strongest CBS affiliates in the nation.
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
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
station WKFT-TV (now WUVC-TV
WUVC-TV
WUVC-DT is the Univision owned and operated station based and licensed in Fayetteville, North Carolina and serving the Triangle television market. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 38...
), 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
Primetime 24
Primetime 24 is a special package offered on C band satellite sent out to viewers who mainly live in Latin America, the Caribbean, and very rural areas of the United States and Canada; urban areas could receive the package as well, though reception is subject to Federal Communications Commission ...
package. That offered network affiliates to viewers in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, 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
WSEE-TV
WSEE-TV, channel 35, is an CBS-affiliated television station located in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. WSEE-TV is owned by Lilly Broadcasting, and is operated by NBC affiliate WICU-TV through a local marketing agreement. The two stations both share studios on State Street in downtown Erie, and a...
from Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
.
Digital programming
On June 19, 1996, the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
awarded WRAL-TV the first experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
al high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
license in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. 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 Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main WRAL-TV programming / CBS |
| 5.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | This TV This TV This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies.... |
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
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers continue to display WRAL's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 5.1
Programming
WRAL has aired the entire CBS program schedule since the late-1990s. The only exceptions involves ACCAtlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
football and basketball from Raycom Sports
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
, both of which have aired on the station since 1982. 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
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
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
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
) were having no luck against The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
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 kids' shows with an educational slant including: Frog Hollow, Sparks, and The Androgena Show. Today, WRAL continues to produce quality children's educational programs with such shows as Smart Start Kids and Brain Game
Brain Game (North Carolina)
Brain Game is a weekly quizbowl-type show for high school students that airs on WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. The program debuted in 1997. It currently airs at 11:30 am on Saturdays, and the current host is former WRAL traffic reporter Mark Roberts...
.
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
Triangle
A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
. 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
North Carolina Education Lottery
The North Carolina Education Lottery is run by the government of North Carolina. It was established after Gov. Mike Easley signed the North Carolina State Lottery Act and the 2005 Appropriations Act....
drawings (twice daily for certain games, with the multi-jurisdictional Mega Millions
Mega Millions
Mega Millions is a US multi-jurisdictional $1 lottery game. Since it replaced The Big Game in May 2002 , Mega Millions' advertised jackpots have started at $12 million, paid in 26 yearly installments , increasing when there is no jackpot winner...
Tuesday and Friday nights, and Powerball
Powerball
Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
Wednesdays and Saturdays.) On December 3, 2007, WRAL became the first local television station to stream live video to mobile phones. This event coincided with the 48th annual WRAL tower lighting.
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.Over a period of two decades from the late 1970s to the 1990s the station had unusually high turnover in its news management ranks. At least twelve news managers worked at the station during that period, an average tenure of less than 1½ years for each manager, or News Director. For a time, this earned WRAL-TV a reputation as a less than desirable destination for news managers. Management staff has stabilized in recent years.
Until his retirement on July 1, 1994, Charlie Gaddy co-anchored newscasts alongside Bobbie Battista, Adele Arakawa (now with KUSA-TV
KUSA-TV
KUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
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.
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
. 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.
In 2000, WRAL aired the world's first high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
newscast on October 13. In January 2001, WRAL converted all of its local news broadcasts to 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
WCMC-FM
WCMC-FM is a Sports Talk radio station based in Raleigh, North Carolina and licensed to nearby Holly Springs. Its studios are located in downtown Raleigh along with WRAL-FM, an adult contemporary music station...
(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-LP
WILM-LP
WILM-LD is the low-powered CBS-affiliated television station for the Cape Fear area of Southeastern North Carolina. Licensed to Wilmington, it broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 40 from a transmitter in Delco. The station can also be seen on AMTC channel 10, Time Warner channel 12, and...
in Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. WRAL is one of a growing number of local news stations in the United States to have its own application for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
. 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 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
Bell 407
The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter; a derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger. The 407 uses the four-blade rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior instead of the two-blade, semi-rigid rotor of the 206L-4...
helicopter was purchased for $2 million in 2000. The 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 21 years. Today, the aircraft is normally stored at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport
Raleigh-Durham International Airport
Raleigh-Durham International Airport is a public international airport located 4.5 miles northeast of the town of Morrisville in suburban Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The airport covers and operates three runways, providing direct service to 40 domestic and international...
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
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
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.
Newscast titles
- Stateline/Dateline (1956–1964)
- Dateline (1964–1972)
- TV-5 Action NewsAction NewsAction News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
(1972–1976) - Action NewsAction NewsAction News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
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 Source24 Hour News SourceThe 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...
(1990–1991) - North Carolina's News Leader (1991–2004)
- Coverage You Can Count On (1998–present)
Current on-air staff
Current Anchors- Kelcey Carlson - weekday mornings (5-7 a.m. on WRAL; 7-9 a.m. on WRAZ); also reporter
- Renee Chou - weekend mornings; also weekday reporter
- David Crabtree - weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.
- Sloane Heffernan - weekend mornings; also weekday reporter
- Jackie HylandJackie HylandJackie Hyland, born in New York City, is a television anchor on WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC.Hyland lived for 10 years in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland as a child where she was proficient in Irish folk song and dance, appeared in several Irish magazines and newspapers and did runway work.. After...
- weeknights at 5:30 p.m. and 10pm (on WRAZ) - Bill Leslie - weekday mornings (5-7 a.m. on WRAL; 7-9 a.m. on WRAZ) and noon
- Debra Morgan - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Gerald Owens - weeknights at 5:30, 10 (on WRAZ) and 11 p.m.
- Ken Smith - weekend evenings; also weeknight reporter
Weather Team
- Greg FishelGreg FishelGreg Fishel is a meteorologist for WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. He received his B.S. in Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University in 1979. He has been at WRAL since 1981, and became the station's chief meteorologist in 1989.Fishel was the first certified broadcast meteorologist in the...
(AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. - Kim Deaner (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekend evenings
- Elizabeth Gardner (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon - Mike Maze (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weeknights at 5:30 and 10 p.m. (on WRAZ)
- Mike Moss (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings
- Nate Johnson (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - weeknight producer and administrator
Sports Team
- Jeff Gravley - sports anchor; weeknights at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- Ken Medlin - sports anchor; weekend evenings, also sports reporter
- Jason Jennings - sports reporter
- Mandy Mitchell - sports reporter
- Brad Simmons - sports producer
- Tom Suiter - "Football Friday" anchor/producer
Reporters
- Rick Armstrong
- Mike Charbonneau
- 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 and WRAL.com reporter
Notable former staff
- Adele ArakawaAdele ArakawaAdele Arakawa is an American evening news anchor for NBC affiliate station KUSA-TV of Denver, Colorado. She was the first female radio disc jockey in Knoxville, Tennessee...
- former co-anchor (1983–1989, now at KUSA-TVKUSA-TVKUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
in Denver) - Curt Autry - weekend anchor/reporter (1991–1994, now at WWBTWWBTWWBT is the NBC-affiliated television station for Richmond, Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Midlothian Turnpike in the city. Owned by Raycom Media, the station operates CW affiliate WUPV through a shared services...
in Richmond) - Jim AxelrodJim AxelrodJim Axelrod is a National Correspondent for CBS News, and reports for the CBS Evening News and other CBS News programs.Axelrod was one of CBS News' embedded correspondents in Iraq and was the first TV reporter to broadcast live from Saddam International Airport after its takeover by American...
- 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 BaierBret BaierBret Baier is an American journalist and the host of Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News Channel. He previously worked as the network's Chief White House Correspondent and Pentagon correspondent.-Career:...
- reporter (mid-1990s, now with Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
) - Bobbie BattistaBobbie BattistaBarbara Ann "Bobbie" Battista is an American journalist and a former prominent newscaster with the Cable News Network . During her 20-year career with the cable news company, Battista anchored numerous programs on CNN, CNN Headline News and CNN International...
- former co-anchor (1976–1981, joined CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in 1982), now at The Onion News Network, the online news-satirical group. - Sandra BookmanSandra BookmanSandra Bookman is an American television news reporter and anchor. She is currently a weekday reporter and the weekend anchor at WABC-TV in New York City. She co-anchors the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekend editions of Eyewitness News.She joined the station in 1998 from WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia where...
- weekend anchor/reporter (1985–1989, now at WABC-TVWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York) - Denice Boyer - anchor/reporter (1980s)
- Rich Brenner - Sports Anchor (1970s-1982)
- Susan Brozek - reporter (1985–1988, now Senior Producer/Local Programming at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh)
- Dale Cardwell - reporter (1985–1991, later at WSB-TVWSB-TVWSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
in Atlanta. Democratic candidate for US Senate, 2008) - Bob CaudleBob CaudleBob Caudle is an American professional wrestling announcer most notable for his time with The National Wrestling Alliance-NWA. He started working with Jim Crockett Promotions in the late 1950s for promoter Jim Crockett, Sr...
- 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 CollegeWake Technical Community CollegeWake Technical Community College, commonly known as Wake Tech, is a two-year accredited institution of higher education and technical training school. Its main campus is located approximately five miles south of Raleigh, North Carolina, near McCullers Crossroads. It also operates several branch...
) - Erin Coleman - weekend anchor/reporter (2000s, now at WSB-TVWSB-TVWSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
in Atlanta) - Ned Colt - (now an NBC News Correspondent)
- Paul Crawley - reporter (1976–1978, now at WXIA-TVWXIA-TVWXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...
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 GaddyCharlie GaddyCharlie Gaddy , was a Raleigh, North Carolina television anchorman for WRAL-TV. He anchored the evening news for over 20 years. He retired in 1994.-Biography:...
- anchorman (1970–1994) - Donna Gregory - originated WRAL's 5:30 p.m. newscast (1988–1995, now with NBC NewsNBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
) - Terri Gruca - reporter (1994–1997), now anchor at KVUE-TV in Austin
- Don Griffin - consumer reporter/weekend anchor (1976–1982, now at WSOC-TVWSOC-TVWSOC-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. The station's studio is located at North Tryon and 23rd Streets, just north of Uptown Charlotte, and is shared with sister station WAXN-TV . The transmitter is located just outside...
in Charlotte) - Angela Hampton - reporter (1993–1994, now at WTVDWTVDWTVD, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Durham, North Carolina. The station serves the areas of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Fayetteville, known as the Triangle...
) - Jesse HelmsJesse HelmsJesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
- 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 ReeveRay reeve* Ray Reeve - 1901-1980Pioneer sports radio and television broadcaster, 1939–1973. Long association with Tobacco Sports Network and WRAL-TV. Radio broadcasts of early ACC games in 1950s carried the league to millions of listeners across the eastern seaboard. He was a graduate of Dartmouth...
- WRAL's first sportscaster (1956–1973, deceased) - Mark Roberts - morning traffic reporter/Host of Brain Game
- Pam Saulsby - anchor/reporter (1991-2011)
- Stuart ScottStuart ScottStuart Scott is a sportscaster and anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter.-Early life and career:Scott attended Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and went to college at the University of North Carolina. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity...
- reporter (1988–1990, now with ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
) - Bill Schmidt - meteorologist (1980s)
- Glenn Schwartz - meteorologist (now with WCAU-TV in Philadelphia)
- Carol Sbarge - reporter (1986–1992, now with WSB-TVWSB-TVWSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
in Atlanta) - Rick Sullivan - sports reporter/anchor (1984–1995)
- Larry Stogner - reporter (1973–1976, now at WTVDWTVDWTVD, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Durham, North Carolina. The station serves the areas of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Fayetteville, known as the Triangle...
) - 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)
- Ray WilkinsonRay WilkinsonRay Wilkinson was a long time agricultural news anchor and reporter for Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh, North Carolina....
- farm news (1963–1995, deceased) - Dan Wilkinson - son of Ray Wilkinson, farm news (deceased)
- Kelly WrightKelly WrightKelly Wright is an American reporter for Fox News Channel and co-anchor of America's News Headquarters on Saturday, and is based in the network’s Washington, D.C., bureau. He was a co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend from July 2006 to January 2008....
- reporter and weekend anchor (mid-1990s, now with Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
)
Station coverage
WRAL can be viewed from much of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The official eastern fringe of the Raleigh market is Halifax CountyHalifax County, North Carolina
-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:-Demographics:[[Image:HalifaxCountyCotton.wmg.jpg|left|thumb|A cotton field blooms in Halifax County....
and the western fringe is Orange County
Orange County, North Carolina
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
. The Virginia and South Carolina state lines make up the northern and southern fringe respectively, with the exception of Mecklenburg County, VA
Mecklenburg County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 32,727 people, 12,951 households, and 8,962 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile . There were 17,403 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
. 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.
Outside the WRAL market on cable
WRAL-TV has been popular with viewers throughout central and eastern North Carolina but with the increased regulation of the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC), Nielsen Ratings and advertisers, WRAL in the past has almost been dropped by Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
(TWC) lineups. However, up until the mid 1990s, WRAL used to be on cable in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 26,822 people, 9,848 households, and 7,189 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile . There were 14,145 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
but was dropped with no official reason. In 2008, TWC outlets in Rockingham
Rockingham, North Carolina
Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States named after the Marquis of Rockingham. The population was 9,672 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County...
, Laurinburg, Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
and Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro, North Carolina
Murfreesboro is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,045 at the 2000 census. Murfreesboro is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region.-Geography:Murfreesboro is located at ....
were once facing the possibility of being dropped but their contracts have been renewed. This also includes their sister station WRAZ-TV.
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
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad, or Triad, is a north-central region of the U.S. state of North Carolina that consists of the area within and surrounding the three major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group or "triad" of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the...
, Eastern North Carolina
Eastern North Carolina
Eastern North Carolina is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Fayetteville Metropolitan Area, the Lower Cape Fear , the Sandhills, the Inner Banks and...
, and even into parts of Southside Virginia and the Pee Dee
Pee Dee
The Pee Dee region of South Carolina is the northeastern corner of the state. It is the area of the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, named after the Pee Dee Native American tribe. Its center is Florence...
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. Outside of the Raleigh market in Southside Virginia, WRAL is on cable in South Boston, Halifax County and Lawrenceville, Brunswick County. WRAL is also 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. However in Northampton County, which is partly in the Hampton Roads television market but used to be in the Raleigh market, the town of Jackson does not carry WRAL but only WNCT, the CBS affiliate from Greenville and WTKR, the market's CBS affiliate. WRAL is carried on Randolph Telephone in Randolph County
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
for subscribers living in the service area.
Significantly viewed by the FCC
WRAL is significantly viewed by the FCC in the following North Carolina counties outside of the DMA: Alamance, Caswell, Duplin, Lenoir, Pitt, Robeson and Scotland.Community Access TeleVision
During the 1970s and 1980s, 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-TVUNC-TV
University of North Carolina Television, known on-air as UNC-TV, is a public television network in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is operated by the University of North Carolina, with studios located at the UNC Center for Public Television at Research Triangle Park...
have teamed up in coproducing programming, such as the 2009 Gubernatorial Inauguration and the 2006 Parade of Sail Tall Ship Show in Beaufort
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...
. 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 WilkinsonRay Wilkinson
Ray Wilkinson was a long time agricultural news anchor and reporter for Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh, North Carolina....
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
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
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 azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s and other flowering plants including several types of dogwood
Dogwood
The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...
s. The garden is a popular public attraction, especially during April when the flowers are at the peak of blooming.