More Highlights for Bill Schmidt

• WRAL anchor team early 80s

  Ray Wilkinson, Denece Boyer, Bob Vernon and Bill Schmidt on the set during noon newscast

• Premiere of the hour long Action News 5 newscast at 6pm

  WRAL-TV launched the hour long version of Action News 5 at 6:00PM on June 14, 1982. You will also see vintage commercials that aired during the newscast. WRAL News had been preparing for this moment for a couple of years. The preps ranged from a ramp-up of resources ranging from reporters, photographers, producers, to moving to newsroom/set. You will notice that Charlie Gaddy does not have a co-anchor at this point. Bobbie Battista, former co-anchor joined CNN in Atlanta in December, 1981. Adele Arakawa would join Charlie on March 14, 1983.
  The news department manager was Steve Grissom. The newscast was produced by Connie Lane and directed by Pam Parris -Allen.
  If you look closely at the end of the newscast, you can see a crowd of people at the back of the newsroom (left of the Action News 5 logo) standing in the shadows; they are huddled around a television set watching the premiere.
  *NOTE* You will notice several quick video break-ups during “The Money Desk” segment with reporter Tim Smith.