The data is in, and American Underground is sharing in their latest annual report with information collected between October 2020 and September 2021. The team says, “Our favorite stat is that 52% of AU member companies are led by a woman

The 189 member companies of the American Underground have raised more than $97 million and created 402 new jobs between Oct. 2020 and Sept. 2021, according to a report the organization shared with WRAL TechWire, prior to making it publicly

The Durham Holiday Night Market at American Tobacco wrapped up the night market season for 2021.  The shopping event took place under the Lucky Strike Water Tower on Thursday, December 9. “While the weather outside was a bit frightful for

Just in time for the holidays and New Year, American Tobacco is unveiling one more reason to celebrate and look forward to 2022. Opening in mid-2022, Seraphine, a Louisiana-inspired restaurant and bar from Brad and Graham Weddington, will complete the

Get ready for American Tobacco’s BIGGEST Durham Night Market of the year filled with lots of holiday cheers this Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 5-9pm. Shop over 50 local artisans and small businesses + live music, beer, wine, food truck, a

Nonprofits across North Carolina descended on the WRAL-TV Transmitter site in Auburn, NC, on Saturday, September 25, 2021, to pick up the plants awarded them in the 35th Annual WRAL Azalea Celebration.  The celebration returned after being cancelled in 2020

The 34th Annual WRAL Azalea Celebration came to a conclusion on Saturday, October 5, 2019, with winning groups picking up their plants from the WRAL Transmitter site in Auburn, NC.  Capitol Broadcasting distributed 4,820 azaleas to 114 nonprofit groups from

The 32nd Annual WRAL Azalea Celebration culminated with the distribution of plants to the winning non-profits on Saturday, September 30, 2017.  CBC Property Management staffers worked with volunteers at the WRAL Transmitter site in Auburn, NC, as the winners came

The first WRAL-TV news studio in the late 1950s. The studio was located at the transmitter facility in Auburn, NC. Pictured is Promotion Department staffer Herb Marks, who also portrayed Capn 5 on the air.

Crew from Tower King company working near the top of the new WRAL tower in 1990. Company owner Jimmy King is pictured at the bottom preparing to attach a 60-thousand pound guy wire to the tower. Crew member John Benton is at upper left.

WRAL-TV’s LiveStar 5 and other HDTV production equipment at the technical compound in Beaufort. WRAL built a special tower to receive HDTV transmissions from cameras on ships and on land.

Legendary UCLA basketball coach Wooden being interviewed by Reverend Morriss at the 1973 Campbell basketball camp. Morriss was a well-known host of religious programs on WRAL-TV.

WRAL-TV’s ku-band satellite truck outside the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral, FL. LiveStar was on location to uplink HDTV coverage of the historic return to space by astronaut John Glenn.

SKY 5 and pilot Mike Allen was called to search for three people last seen in canoes on the Cape Fear River.

Jim Goodmon discusses his ownership interest in the Carolina Hurricanes

The North Carolina Symphony presents “Pops in the Park” concert.
WRAL News anchor Bill Leslie explains the relationship between the station and the symphony. WRAL began broadcasting “Pops in the Park” LIVE in 1984. This 2006 presentation of Pops in the Park features NC Symphony resident conductor William Henry Curry and Assistant conductor Joan Landry. The venue was the Koka Booth Amphitheatre located in Cary, North Carolina. The concert aired on WRAL-TV and UNC-TV.

ESPN anchor and former WRAL-TV news reporter doing interview at Prestonwood County Club.

WRAL hosted 12 student journalists from across the country as part of the fifth annual CBC-UNC Diversity Fellowship. Each spring, WRAL teams up with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to welcome the students to participate in a

October 12, 1961 President John F. Kennedy visited the campus of University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Later that day, the President traveled to Fort Bragg near Fayetteville. UNC Chancellor William Friday shared his recollections of that historic day with WRAL News reporter Scott Mason.

In 1963, WRAL News director and anchor Bill Armstrong landed an interview with NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong, no relation, at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill. Neil Armstrong and other astronauts were there January 28-30, 1963 learning about celestial navigation.

WRAL-TV weather and sports announcer Bob Knapp accepting trophy after winning a media golf tournament. Knapp shot an even-par 72 at the Finley course in Chapel Hill to take the crown.

When the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill posted 200,000-plus pages of public records on its website last month, it allowed the public to read some of the 5 million pages of emails, memos and other documents collected as part

Former CNN anchor Bobbie Battista has passed away at the age of 67, according to a family spokeswoman. Battista passed away on Tuesday morning, March 3, 2020, after a four-year battle with cervical cancer, according to Wendy Guarisco, family spokeswoman.

“I was cable before cable was cool.” Ted Turner, May 1982. Turner, aka “Mouth of the South,” founder of Cable News Network – CNN, was tooting his horn at the National Cable Television Association convention in Las Vegas. However, a

Bobbie Battista in her early days as a CNN anchor

LiveStar I at the Daytona Beach International Speedway for coverage of Speed Weeks and the big 500 mile race.

New initiative honors, celebrates impact of Black pioneers in baseball & community The Durham Bulls in conjunction with Minor League Baseball (MiLB) have announced the launch of “The Nine”, a new, Black-community focused outreach platform across MiLB specifically designed to

Williams to be joined by pitching coach Reith, hitting coach Bradley and bench coach Ruiz The reigning Triple-A National Champion Durham Bulls, in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Rays, have announced that Brady Williams will be returning for his third

The Durham Holiday Night Market at American Tobacco wrapped up the night market season for 2021.  The shopping event took place under the Lucky Strike Water Tower on Thursday, December 9. “While the weather outside was a bit frightful for

New home & road jerseys honor Durham franchise’s past, alternate jersey recognizes “Bull City” The Durham Bulls have unveiled new uniforms to be worn for the upcoming 2022 season, the franchise’s 26th season at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Replica jerseys

Get ready for American Tobacco’s BIGGEST Durham Night Market of the year filled with lots of holiday cheers this Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 5-9pm. Shop over 50 local artisans and small businesses + live music, beer, wine, food truck, a

WRAL will employ a journalist to cover issues in eastern North Carolina WRAL, a division of Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh, N.C., is proud to announce Report for America has selected the station to be a 2020-2021 host newsroom. Report

18 Beers. 18 Holes. 1 Great Cause. 99.9 The Fan’s 2nd Annual Clubs and Suds Craft Beer Golf Tournament raised $3,334 for Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina.  134 players on 31 teams played in the tourney on Friday, November 1, 2019,

Rocky Mount Mills is teaming together with our campus tenants and our CBC family as a drop off location for Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina on Wednesday, September 19th. Rocky Mount Mills (1151 Falls Rd), 9:00am-3:00pm Goat Island

The tiny home trend is coming to Rocky Mount. The first and only tiny home hotel in eastern North Carolina is being built along the Tar River, representatives announced Wednesday. Dubbed River & Twine, a 20-unit hotel, will feature modern amenities including

When the snow visited Eastern North Carolina during the first week of January 2018, Rocky Mount Mills became a winter wonderland.  RMM Event Services and Marketing Manager Julie Baggett braved the cold to snap photos of the picturesque views of

WRAL-TV anchorman Charlie Gaddy looks on as Executive Director Kevin Duffus readies equipment. The WRAL team was in England for live broadcasts to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Plymouth voyages.

WRAL News Tops Ratings in Raleigh-Durham Market as the Most Watched Local News The results are in for the 2019 November Nielsen ratings period, and WRAL (Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville DMA) has once again clinched its position as the Triangle’s top

WRAL News Tops Ratings in Raleigh-Durham Market, #1 in All Newscasts, All Day With the final numbers in for the May 2019 Nielsen ratings period, WRAL (Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville DMA) sealed its position as the Triangle’s top news station with

With the final numbers in for the November 2018 Nielsen ratings period, WRAL News (Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville DMA) dominated the competition with household ratings wins in every daypart, every day.  WRAL News was the most watched local news overall, with

The Salvation Army of Fayetteville recently honored WRAL-TV for the station’s coverage of Hurricane Matthew, both during the storm and in the days following.  WRAL-TV Reporter Gilbert Baez accepted the 2016 Media Excellence Award at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens

WRAL-TV and UNC-TV’s NC Channel to broadcast 2016 Fayetteville Veterans Day Parade Presented by the Cumberland County Veterans Council and the City of Fayetteville LIVE coverage begins 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 5 WRAL-TV and UNC-TV’s NC Channel will broadcast the

The WRAL News bureau in Fayetteville plays an important role in news gathering in the southeastern region of North Carolina. Reporter Gilbert Baez has been the point man for covering the news of Fort Bragg, Cumberland County, and the surrounding area. Promo produced in 1992.

WRAL-TV News Anchor Gerald Owens reports on the high rate of divorce among military marriages when one spouse is deployed away from home for a long period of time and/or multiple deployments.

Charlie Gaddy as a Freshman at Guilford College in 1949

Young Charlie Gaddy working a summer job for CP&L

WRAL News documents the devastation created by Hurricane Fran on the coast of NC and in Wake County. September 1996.

“The Cape Light” was the 1st documentary to be produced and air in HD. WRAL-TV News Anchor/Reporter Bill Leslie meets with people living at the coast as well as historians and environmentalists about the impact that beach erosion poses to threaten the historic lighthouse. Should the lighthouse be moved inland or find another method to control beach erosion that might cause the lighthouse to fall into the sea? Bill shares his findings in the documentary.

This WRAL-TV Documentary highlights aviation in North Carolina, with special emphasis on the Wright Brothers’ first flight from Kitty Hawk on Dec. 17, 1903. Other features include construction of a 1903 Wright Flyer replica that was flown Dec. 17, 2003 during Kitty Hawk’s centennial celebration, a profile on the state’s first licensed pilot, N.C.’s military aviation history and a look at the aviation curriculum in schools. First broadcast in May 2003 and hosted by WRAL’s Bill Leslie, this WRAL special aired in conjunction with the opening weekend of Fayetteville’s Festival of Flight, an 11-day celebration featuring air shows, expos, displays, exhibits and an arts festival. It was rebroadcast in December to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic flight.

WRAL-TV News Anchor/Reporter Bill Leslie examines the challenge facing commercial fishermen in the midst of governmental regulations and restrictions. Leslie also looks at the feud between commercial and recreational fishing.

After working on the WRAL Documentary “New Trouble on the Neuse River,” WRAL photojournalist Richard Adkins takes WRAL-TV viewers and WRAL.com visitors for a multi-day, ground-level look at North Carolina’s important waterway. “New Trouble on the Neuse River” premieres on Thursday, April

Retired WRAL-TV Anchor Bill Leslie will be back to discuss current problems for the Neuse River, a natural resource he first reported on 30 years ago.  The WRAL Documentary “New Trouble on the Neuse River” premieres this Thursday, April 18,

WRAL-TV News Anchor/Reporter Bill Leslie investigates the cause of contamination of the Neuse River and the impact on residents, industry, and tourism.

WRAL-TV News environmental reporter Bill Leslie traces the problem of river pollution from the Triangle to the coast. The Neuse River is 315 miles long and is impacted by industry that dumps wastes along its path that ends in the Pamlico Sound. This follow-up documentary to the first “Troubled Waters” won a regional Emmy award.

Jean Dietze, Jimmy Goodmon and Steve Hammel enjoy the moment after the official contract signing that made WRAL-TV the local NBC affiliate on January 13, 2016.

NBC Affiliate Relations President Jean Dietze signs agreement January 13, 2016 making WRAL-TV the new NBC station in the Raleigh-Durham television market.

CBC VP Jimmy Goodmon and WRAL-TV VP-GM Steve Hammel relax at 30 Rock after signing NBC affiliation agreement January 13, 2016.

CBC VP Jimmy Goodmon makes it official as he signs affiliation agreement between WRAL-TV and NBC January 13, 2016.

News team from WRAL-FM/North Carolina News Network celebrate Peabody Award in New York City

Health Team members accepting the NC Med Society Public Service Award in 1995. L-R: Chris Mondragon, Dr. Allen Mask, Dr. Alicia Underwood, Lynn Hoggard, Mary Cates Gravley and Malinda Adams.

Live coverage of the 400th anniversary of the voyage from Plymouth, England to the shores of North Carolina. The program includes historical background reports, meeting the people of today living in Plymouth, and other points of interest.

The broadcast originated from the west pier of Plymouth harbor on the Barbicon Coast in SW England. The celebration included a parade, horse drawn carriages, Her Majesty Royal Marine marching band, and speeches from dignataries from England and North Carolina including Governor Jim Hunt.

WRAL-TV News Anchor Charlie Gaddy anchored the broadcast carried by stations throughout the state by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.

Aired April 27, 1984.

WRAL-TV News Anchor Charlie Gaddy explores the heritage of the Barbicon at Plymouth, England. Gaddy meets local fisherman Fred Brimacombe and his wife Joyce. They talk about the lure of the sea, daily life of a fisherman, memories of World War 2 in England, and a visit to a local pub.

Herb Marks as Cap’n Five with kids at Raleigh’s Pullen Park

WRAL Nights of Lights at Dorothea Dix Park, back for a second year this 2021 holiday season, opens to the public tonight, Friday, November 26. This new Raleigh holiday tradition is a joint effort between WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting Company and

To make this year’s parade in Raleigh even more holly and jolly, CBC changed things up at WRAL’s Winter Wonderland!  The third year of the event looked much different than year’s past due to COVID-19 precautions we are still taking,

WRAL Nights of Lights at Dorothea Dix Park is back for a second year this 2021 holiday season. This new Raleigh holiday tradition is a joint effort between WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting Company and the City of Raleigh. WRAL Nights of

Corp CEO & Board Chairman Jim Goodmon and his wife, A.J. Fletcher Foundation President Barbara Goodmon, both participated in the virtual groundbreaking for the Recovery Can’t Wait capital campaign for Healing Transitions in Raleigh on Thursday, March 25, 2021.  The

Premieres on WRAL-TV, WILM-TV, wraldocumentary.com, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung Smart TV Wednesday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. Premieres on WRAZ FOX 50 Saturday, March 20 at 5 p.m. Raleigh is the second fastest growing major metro

View of the historic Rocky Mount Mills along the Tar River in Rocky Mount, NC. CBC plans to restore the property and create Rocky Mount Brewmill, an incubator for craft brewers.

WRAL-TV News Anchor David Crabtree and Father Tim O’Connor with Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, traveled to St. Peter’s Basilica located within Vatican City. WRAL was the first television to shoot HD video footage inside the Sistine Chapel. You will meet people from around the world visiting Rome and hear their impressions of this holy city.

Starshooter uplink truck operator Dave Waters during training at the NC Truck Driving School in Smithfield. Waters passed the eight-week course in 1984 and went on to drive the CBC 18-wheeler.

MeTV is the classic television show network running on a WILM-TV digital channel.

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin throw the symbolic switch making local TV stations the first in the country to go digital. WILM was the first CBC affiliate to make the change.

WRAL Director of Engineering Peter Sockett tests WILM-TV’s new digital transmitter before the historic DTV transition. WILM was the first CBS affiliate to make the switch on September 8, 2008

Technician works on antenna array atop WILM tower.

The WRAL Azalea Gardens are in full bloom right now.  Visitors stop by daily to take in the beautiful color. In perfect timing for the spring explosion, CBC recently relaunched a newly designed website for the WRAL Gardens. FOX 50

A few years ago a film crew descended upon the WRAL Gardens to shoot scenes for a North Carolina-based movie.  Filmmaker Anderson Boyd recently came back by the station to talk about “Well Wishes.”  Hailed as “equal parts satirical comedy,

For the third time this year, Capitol Broadcasting Company held a spring contest among its employees.  Capture the best shot of the WRAL Gardens.  As the Gardens exploded with color, CBC’ers took to the winding paths and submitted breathtaking photos. 

This article appeared in the Leader magazine in 1979, not long after CBC founder AJ Fletcher died. Fletcher designed and planted the garden in 1959.

Shot of azaleas in bloom in the WRAL Gardens. The gardens were planted by Capitol Broadcasting Company founder A.J. Fletcher and are open to the public year-round.

1. Many well-known preachers had their programs produced in the studios of WRAL and/or WRAL radio. Which person did NOT broadcast from the studios of WRAL and/or WRAL radio? A) Sister Gary B) Oral Roberts C) Billy Graham D) Jimmy

These are a few of the people who were part of the inaugural staff of WRAL-TV in 1956. Some worked double-duties at WRAL radio and WRAL television. See if you can place the correct name with the picture. 1. He

Although he retired from WRAL-TV last fall, Clarence Williams is still sharing CBC stories from the community.  Williams recently wrote this piece to remember a WRAL Radio legend, Raymond “Dr. Jocko” Henderson and his mentor, J.D. Lewis:  The beautiful serene

Lewis handling an air shift in his early days with WRAL AM and FM

MIX-101.5 Morning Man Bill Jordan having fun with the one and only Richard Simmons at WRAL-FM.

Sunday night, January 28, 2001 was a big night for WRAL-TV. Not only did the station broadcast both the SuperBowl XXXV in HD and the premiere of Survivor II: The Australian Outback, WRAL opened the doors on its new all-digital newsroom. The 11 o’clock newscast unveiled its state of the art, all-digital studio.

With this newscast WRAL became the world’s first news operation to gather and present high definition local news on a continuous basis. At that time, John Harris, WRAL’s Director of Special Projects, said, “The 11:00pm newscast will mark our move into the new facility, so it’s the official start of the new era.”

Everything from the furniture to the state-of-the-art set changed for WRAL in the new 24,000 square foot all-digital facility, part of a building expansion project started in 1998. The studio cameras and the field cameras were brand new, 89 pieces of Panasonic DVCPRO HD equipment in all. The Devlin Group in San Diego, who created the cutting-edge design for WRAL, featured the station’s new virtual set on their website.

At that time, WRAL-TV Vice President and General Manager Bill Peterson said, “This conversion to HD has, quite frankly, never been done before. Virtually every piece of equipment we use in putting together a newscast… has completely changed. What viewers will see, even those with standard sets, is truly one-of-a-kind news operation. They’ll see a clearer picture, more detail and a greatly enhanced newsroom designed to function at the highest possible standard.”

WRAL News continues to broadcast its award winning newscast from this space. The news set undergoes updates as the need arises.

Take a look behind the scenes when 2003 American Idol finalist, Clay Aiken, made a whirlwind trip from Hollywood to his hometown of Raleigh during the final weeks of competition of the hit FOX TV show American Idol. Clay finished as the runner-up to champion Ruben Studdard.

This video shows Clay arriving at WRAL-TV the morning of Friday, May 9 2003. He makes his way into the station greeting employees as he makes his way to the newsroom . You’ll see and hear Clay interviewed by WRAL Morning news anchors.

All the video was shot from a news photographer shooting from behind-the-scenes. Enjoy this unique look of what happens during a live newscast as Clay Aiken has fun “helping” Mike Maze present the weather report and Mark Roberts with his traffic report.

September 11, 2001 changed the way the United States went about the task of protecting the nation for harm. Terrorists, with ease, inflicted death and destruction in New York City and Washington D.C. One year later, WRAL asked the question – how safe are we?

WRAL News anchor David Crabtree and The News & Observer newspaper executive editor Melanie Sill posed the question to experts representing various roles in law enforcement and the military, plus those who hold positions in education and religion.

The program aired in September 2002.

Reeve at the sports anchor desk preparing for a broadcast. Reeve was the first WRAL-TV Sports Director and anchorman.

Sparks was a WRAL-TV locally-produced childrens program that premiered August 10, 1985. The program was produced by Peter Anlyan and featured Meredith Nicholson (foreground(, Kent FAulcon, Mark Miller, Mark Kath, Phyllis Bullock and Joshua Lozoff.

Ring in 2020 at Rocky Mount Mills’ HopDrop. It’s the party of the year and WRAL Mikaya Thurmond, WRAL TV anchor/reporter will be counting down the New Year with us!! Rocky Mount Mills announces that its 2nd Annual Hop Drop

WRAL TV will be on the air until Hurricane Florence is out of our area. We are riding this out with you. Stay safe, and stay with us as we continue to bring you important information to keep you safe.

1. Which vehicle would be the best choice to cover breaking news in eastern North Carolina? a) Unmarked live van with obvious microwave unit on top. b) Action News 5 WRAL TV news van. c) “The General Lee” from The

WRAL-TV employee Tommie Bland threading a film projector, which was an everyday task until videotape replaced film at the station.

Newscast Director Clarence Williams prepares for work in the WRAL Master Control. The switcher was made by RCA and was later replaced with one by Grass Valley.

The annual lighting of the WRAL Tower on December 1 transforms the structure into an enchanting Christmas tree!

The late Scottie Stephenson, a long time CBC employee who rose to the rank of vice president, shares how CBC Founder, A.J. Fletcher, came up with the idea of adding a bit of sparkle to the holiday season.

This video is part of a conversation with Scottie that was produced in 1996.

In November, 1998 WRAL-TV5 broke ground on a multi-million dollar building expansion that now houses its state-of-the-art news department/studio and administrative offices, plus remodeled office space for other WRAL-TV departments. The construction project added 35,000 feet onto the south side of the existing studios

R.T. Dooley of Charlotte served as the general contractor for the project, and Envirotek of Raleigh was the architect. Devlin Design Group of San Diego designed the news set, and Rees Associates of Oklahoma City served as interior design contractor.

Before construction could began, WRAL had to dismantle its old 300-foot broadcast relay tower and build a new tower 150 feet northwest of the old location.

WRAL-TV’s fountain frozen in cold weather 1958

SKY5 with pilot Frank Beall on the rooftop heli-stop in 1987

SKY5 at WRAL-TV with pilot Frank Beall

Sunday night, January 28, 2001 was a big night for WRAL-TV. Not only did the station broadcast both the SuperBowl XXXV in HD and the premiere of Survivor II: The Australian Outback, WRAL opened the doors on its new all-digital newsroom. The 11 o’clock newscast unveiled its state of the art, all-digital studio.

With this newscast WRAL became the world’s first news operation to gather and present high definition local news on a continuous basis. At that time, John Harris, WRAL’s Director of Special Projects, said, “The 11:00pm newscast will mark our move into the new facility, so it’s the official start of the new era.”

Everything from the furniture to the state-of-the-art set changed for WRAL in the new 24,000 square foot all-digital facility, part of a building expansion project started in 1998. The studio cameras and the field cameras were brand new, 89 pieces of Panasonic DVCPRO HD equipment in all. The Devlin Group in San Diego, who created the cutting-edge design for WRAL, featured the station’s new virtual set on their website.

At that time, WRAL-TV Vice President and General Manager Bill Peterson said, “This conversion to HD has, quite frankly, never been done before. Virtually every piece of equipment we use in putting together a newscast… has completely changed. What viewers will see, even those with standard sets, is truly one-of-a-kind news operation. They’ll see a clearer picture, more detail and a greatly enhanced newsroom designed to function at the highest possible standard.”

WRAL News continues to broadcast its award winning newscast from this space. The news set undergoes updates as the need arises.