WRAL Tower Lighting 1982 with music

The annual tradition of "lighting the tower" on December 1, started in 1959. Over 3000 colorful lightbulbs attached to the tower are turned on near the end of the newscast. This 1982 video shows the moment the lights are turned on. SKY 5 circled the tower in spectacular fashion revealing how magnificent the lights look from the air. Flying SKY5 ... (read more)

1981 Tower Lighting for Christmas and a look back by Charlie Gaddy

The annual lighting of the tower for Christmas happens on December 1. It is a special time of the year when WRAL spreads Christmas cheer by providing a visual Christmas greeting to the viewers by lighting the tower with more than 3,000 multi-color bulbs. The result is a spectacular Christmas tree. The tradition started in 1959. This particular tower lighting ... (read more)

The origin of the Christmas Tower Lighting byScottie Stephenson

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 ... (read more)

Because No One Else Would

"Because No One Else Would" challenges our notion of what it means to revitalize a city. Starting with the largest surrender of the Civil War, Durham rose to become a 19th century industrial powerhouse with worldwide tobacco brands including Bull Durham and Lucky Strike. But when the tobacco factory closed in 1987, it took all the jobs, banks and businesses. ... (read more)

John Conway General Manager CBC New Media

John Conway is General Manager of digital platforms for CBC New Media. Its flagship website, WRAL.com, is the most visited local media site in the North Carolina and is consistently ranked as a top rated television news website in the nation. Conway first joined Capitol Broadcasting Company in 1995 as the first managing editor of what was then called WRAL ... (read more)