PM Magazine was a unique programming concept that spread across the country in the late 70s and early 80s.

As the name implies, PM was a “magazine” show that featured local hosts introducing stories produced at the local and national level. The story topics were uplifting, interesting, and fun, while the hosts were friendly and entertaining. For WRAL-TV, the mix of local co-hosts appearing in quintessential North Carolina locations proved to be a hit with viewers.

PM Magazine aired on WRAL from 1980 to 1987. The show was hosted originally by Susan Dahlin and Tom McNamara. When Tom left to anchor news in another city, Rick Williams, a WRAL news reporter, was tapped to join Susan.

WRAL Program Director Will Davis spearheaded the show’s launch before moving into other management roles at WRAL. Phyllis Parish served as story producer, associate producer, and later co-producer with Dahlin for the last two years of the run. A number of talented photographers worked on the show, including Jim Colman, Steve Craddock and John Avery.

One of the secrets to PM’s success was the format. It was developed by KPIX-TV in San Francisco in 1976 and was franchised by Group W Television in 1978.

PM Magazine was essentially a story-sharing cooperative made up of member stations across the country. Group W developed theme music and graphics and provided two six-minute story segments for all the stations to use each weekday. That formula ensured that no matter where the program aired, it would have a high measure of quality and style.

The only requirement the local station needed to provide was its own co-hosts plus one local feature for the cooperative each week. If a station had more production resources, it could substitute local features for national features any time.

Everything was shot on location, and the blend of local and national stories gave viewers an insight into interesting people and places across the country.

Former PM Producer Phyllis Parish remembers one of her favorite PM experiences: “One of my favorite NC stories focused on the loggerhead sea turtles at Bald Head Island. We camped out several nights waiting on a mama turtle to arrive. Late one evening, we saw this loggerhead dragging her giant body ashore to nest and bury her eggs. It was a sight I’ll never forget! We were real careful not to let our TV lights scare her from digging her hole in the sand, depositing 80+ ping pong ball sized eggs, then covering up the nest with sand before slowly heading back out to sea. About sixty days later, we traveled back to Bald Head and timed it perfectly, capturing the mama’s hatchlings as they scampered out of the sandy nest and headed toward the ocean! The national PM office selected this story to air nationwide and our team was thrilled. (Having a story ‘go national’ was like winning an Emmy!) This was one of those unforgettable experiences we captured on tape and were proud to share with PM’s viewers across the country.”

WRAL’s PM Magazine unit sometimes traveled out of state and even out of the country to find stories. The PM team visited the Florida Keys to swim with the dolphins and even flew across the Atlantic to produce features on the town of Durham, England.

Where are former hosts Susan, Tom, and Rick now?

After PM Magazine ended its run, Susan Dahlin remained with WRAL-TV as a producer and executive producer of documentaries and special projects. Now she is a successful local artist and entrepreneur.

Tom McNamara moved into television news and is a news anchor at KVOA in Tucson, Arizona.

Rick Williams returned to his journalistic roots in 1988 when he joined WPVI in Philadelphia. Rick was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia in 2010.