The History of Capitol Broadcasting Company

Like every other television news operations in the 1950s and ‘60s, WRAL-TV’s news department relied on 16mm film cameras for all its early newsgathering.

At WRAL, the Auricon was one of the more common cameras that went into the field, but the “cameramen” of the day also used Bell & Howells and Bolex cameras to shoot their news footage.

In those early days, news camera operators used reel after reel of black and white film to capture the news of the day. Eventually they made the transition to color, but film technology still had one glaring limitation – before it could air in a newscast the film stock had to run through a time-consuming chemical processing machine. As a result, news crews had to be back at the station by mid-afternoon to get their film processed in time for the evening newscasts.

This time constraint set the stage for one of the most revolutionary advancements in the history of the television industry – videotape.

As always, WRAL would not be left behind. In a 1966 promotional booklet, WRAL boasted that it was equipped with two TR-22 color videotape recorders and one TR-4 machine for tape playback. The booklet went on to expound on the virtues of the new technology: “Immediately after recording, video tape can be shown without chemical processing.”

These early videotape machines were the size of washer/dryers, so they didn’t exactly lend themselves to the on-the-run gathering of news. WRAL found other uses such as the recording and play back of full-length programs, commercials, editorials and other non-news content.

It would be the mid-1970s before portable videotape cameras and recorders were small and portable enough to find their way into the WRAL News operation. By the end of the 70s, however, videotape had taken over and film cameras were a thing of the past.

WRAL’s radio and television stations have always embraced new technology, and that includes the equipment required to produce the on-air programming, newscasts and commercials.

This innovative spirit began in the 1940s when WRAL pioneered network radio with the advent of the Tobacco Radio Network and the Tobacco Sports Network. Stations across the state were linked by telephone, which was a rudimentary but effective way to deliver simultaneous programming. Live broadcasts of ACC games and special events took listeners on location for the exciting events of the day.

The networks’ early telephone hookups were eventually replaced by microwave relays, satellite distribution, and later by specialized internet connections.

During WRAL-TV’s first decade, production trucks equipped with expensive new videotape machines allowed station personnel to produce programs and commercials on location—outside the studio. The TV station often utilized a whole fleet of specialized vehicles to make these remote productions possible.

Studio production techniques evolved from simple one-camera set-ups to multi-camera shoots with the latest graphics and special effects at the producer’s disposal.

The CBC technology creed has always been simple – put the best, most modern tools and equipment in the hands of talented people and then let them create content with one goal in mind – excellence. CBC’s production staff has achieved that goal time after time.

WRAL-TV’s news helicopter – SKY 5 – was the first helicopter in North Carolina devoted to fulltime television newsgathering. The aircraft went into service on July 31, 1979 and within a very short time it not only covered the news– it became an active participant in many stories. SKY 5 took part in dramatic search and rescues, covered devastating storms and hurricanes, and assisted law enforcement when requested.

WRAL-TV General Manager John Greene stated in a 1981 article in Tar Heel Aviation magazine, “SKY 5 is no gimmick. What it IS, is another demonstration of our commitment to news. We have set our goal. We want to provide the best coverage, not just in the Triangle, but in the state. SKY 5 is one way of doing that.”

WRAL-TV serves a diverse 22-county region of North Carolina. The quickest way to cover breaking news is from the air, but with its ability to hover or orbit over a scene–SKY 5 provided an unobstructed, often-exciting visual perspective.

In selecting WRAL’s first helicopter, John Greene said “We wanted safety and performance.” So after consulting with helicopter pilots and operators, the decision was made to purchase the Hughes 500 D model helicopter. The Hughes’ five-bladed main rotor system provided a very stable platform for a photographer to shoot steady video, plus the 500 D model was fast and maneuverable. In fact, the Hughes 500 helicopter was often referred to as “the Ferrari of the skies.”

To facilitate use of the new aircraft, WRAL-TV submitted a request for a helistop – a pad without fueling or maintenance facilities – to be located on top of one of its buildings on Western Boulevard. That request was approved by the Raleigh Board of Adjustment. The helistop allowed the pilot to fly SKY 5 from its hangar at the Raleigh/Durham airport to the station so news crews could climb aboard and respond quickly to breaking news.

The first SKY 5 was turbine powered and routinely cruised at 165 MPH. The helicopter could comfortably carry four people, including the pilot. However it typically carried a photographer sitting up front with the pilot and a reporter sitting in the back seat.

The color and graphic scheme of the first SKY 5 was unique. The “bumblebee stripes” scheme was one of six available from Hughes Helicopters. The dominant blue color represented the air force of the country the helicopter was originally destined for – Saudi Arabia. However the Saudis reduced their original order, so Capitol Broadcasting Company stepped in to buy the aircraft that would soon become SKY 5.

WRAL Director of Promotion Steve Grissom created a marketing campaign that generated excitement with TV 5 viewers. Billboards throughout eastern North Carolina said, “The Sky is not the limit!” and “Look Up for SKY 5!” When SKY 5 went into service in 1979, WRAL viewers couldn’t get enough, and soon the state’s first news helicopter was as well-known and popular as WRAL’s on-air personalities.

The first three SKY 5 pilots were Army aviation veterans. Randy Watkins was the first pilot to fly SKY 5 full time. Randy was a Warrant Officer in the Army and served 12 months in Vietnam, after which he was assigned to Fort Bragg. Watkins left the service in 1976 and flew in the North Carolina National Guard. In 1978 he moved into commercial aviation and ten months later was offered the job to fly SKY 5.

Watkins flew news crews to locations around the state, providing aerials from scenes ranging from train wrecks to storm damage. He also aided rescue teams looking for lost children. Randy left WRAL at the end of 1981 and continued his flying career in commercial aviation.

Following Watkins’ departure, WRAL hired veteran pilot Mike Allen in January 1982. As a pilot, Mike brought a face, voice and personality to SKY 5.

Allen served as a commissioned officer in the US Army for six years. He completed flight training for the UH-1 “Huey” helicopter and later flew the large Chinook helicopters. Captain Allen served in Vietnam from 1968-1969 where he earned the Bronze Star and 21 air medals.

After Vietnam, Allen entered civilian aviation and flew helicopters for law enforcement/search and rescue operations in California. He also flew forest fire fighting missions throughout the western states as well as geological expeditions to remote regions in Alaska.

Mike arrived at WRAL-TV in January 1982 with over 11,000 flight hours of experience under his belt. He brought a new dimension to SKY 5 by adding the role of reporter to the job of pilot. During WRAL’s weather segment, Bob DeBardelaben would often talk to Mike while SKY 5 provided a live “weather window” for viewers to see cloud formations or damage from storms.

Mike Allen left WRAL in early 1984 and continued his flying career before eventually entering the ministry as an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Frank Beall became the next SKY 5 pilot, joining the WRAL team in late 1984. Beall flew the original WRAL aircraft briefly, but soon took command of the next helicopter bearing the SKY 5 designation. The second SKY 5 went into service on December 7, 1984. It was another Hughes 500 D model, but featured a more powerful turbine engine that made it faster and upgraded avionics to help the pilot navigate to remote locations more easily.

Like the previous two SKY 5 pilots, Beall learned to fly in the military. U.S. Army Captain Frank Beall flew in Vietnam as a scout pilot in a light observation helicopter, the Army version of SKY 5. Beall’s helicopter was shot down and he was wounded on June 5, 1972. He was picked up by another helicopter which was shot down as well. Beall survived both crashes and earned the Purple Heart. After discharge he flew in civilian aviation until he was hired by WRAL.

As pilot, Frank was not a regular on-air personality, but on occasion he would offer witty observations from SKY 5 during the station’s weathercasts. He also continued to build a strong relationship with law enforcement agencies and aided officials in search and rescue efforts when necessary.

Beall left WRAL in 1987 and continued his civilian aviation career in Florida before eventually retiring. He died in 2011 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

SKY 5’s next pilot arrived in 1988 with a wealth of helicopter flying experience.

Steve Wiley’s aviation career started in 1980 and for the next three years he flew aircraft all over Northern Ontario, the northwest territories of Canada and Oregon. In 1983 he moved to Pittsburgh as a flight instructor. While in Pittsburgh, Steve started flying news helicopters. His first station was WPXI-TV followed by WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. Steve then moved to WABC-TV in New York City before accepting the SKY 5 assignment and moving to WRAL in 1988.

Steve flew the Hughes 500 D version of SKY 5 for ten years, but in 1998 helped develop and purchase a bigger, better aircraft that was destined to usher in the modern era of aerial newsgathering at WRAL-TV.

WRAL-TV’s latest SKY 5 – a Bell Helicopters 407 Model – was purchased in August 1998. It arrived in Raleigh two months later and was then flown to a custom facility in Tennessee for design and installation of the latest high tech equipment.

In Tennessee, the Bell 407 was equipped with $600,000 worth of video equipment, including two cameras in the cabin, one on the tail, and a powerful gyroscope-controlled HD camera under the nose. Each camera is controllable from the rear of the aircraft by a WRAL videographer.

Not only was SKY 5 a brand new aircraft – it took on a new FAA designation at the same time. The new FAA tail number, “N553HD,” reflects the helicopter’s television heritage. The first “5” represents WRAL’s longtime analog channel; the number “53” represents WRAL’s first digital channel; while “HD” honors WRAL’s pioneering status in the development of high definition television.

The custom technical work took half a year to complete, and on June 1, 1999, the new SKY 5 went into service to launch the latest chapter of newsgathering in the skies of North Carolina. SKY 5 and pilot Steve Wiley continue to provide aerial news coverage to WRAL-TV viewers—a tradition that started more than 35 years ago.

WRAL’s “Weather Center” was created in 1982 as a way to blend the science of meteorology with the station’s already popular on-air weather presentations. The Weather Center bridged two distinct weather eras at Channel 5 and laid the groundwork for the eventual transition between WRAL’s two weather icons–Bob DeBardelaben and Greg Fishel.

During WRAL-TV’s first quarter century, the station’s weathercasts were presented by on-air personalities who stressed information and communication, not meteorology. These TV “weathermen” gave viewers the basic weather stats of the day, but relied on the professionals at the National Weather Service “bureau” to provide the science behind the forecast.

WRAL’s earliest weathercasters were known as “Atlantic Weathermen.” Announcers Bob Knapp and Bob Caudle would don the uniform of an Atlantic-Richfield gas station attendant to present the nightly forecast. Atlantic sponsored weather segments at stations up and down the east coast and WRAL was a part of that network in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

In 1976 Bob DeBardelaben became the station’s primary weathercaster. DeBardelaben never wore the Atlantic-Richfield uniform, but his friendly style and smooth presentation quickly made him the region’s top weatherman. The fun-loving DeBardelaben was soon known as “the biggest name in weather,” a title that followed him the rest of his legendary career.

By the early 1980s, WRAL General Manager John Greene and News Manager Steve Grissom saw an opportunity to take the station’s weather content and image to a new level. Central to the plan, WRAL would hire a team of certified meteorologists that would give Channel 5 the most scientific, accurate forecasting capabilities of any television station in the region. The plan was approved and with that, “The WRAL Weather Center” concept was born.

The Weather Center idea was based on people, science, technology and promotion. Expanding the weather profile of WRAL-TV was a primary goal, but Capitol Broadcasting executives also saw business opportunities ahead as they analyzed the capabilities of the new weather operation.

In the beginning it was all about people and the Weather Center expansion brought new faces to WRAL-TV. In mid-1981 Capitol Broadcasting began hiring meteorologists; Greg Fishel was first, followed by Mike Modrick and Bill Schmidt.

This new team of weather scientists gave WRAL the ability to produce forecasts in-house. The scientific staff also provided behind-the-scenes support and meteorological guidance for DeBardelaben, who welcomed the new scientific staff with open arms. The new meteorologists were assigned to anchor WRAL-TV’s morning, noon and weekend weather segments; they also made appearances in the evening newscasts (alongside Bob) during extreme weather.

CBC put the meteorologists to work in other areas, as well. They began feeding audio weathercasts to WRAL-FM and the North Carolina News Network stations as a form of cross-promotion and new revenue. With the new radio output the Weather Center became CBC’s newest business unit.

Prior to launch WRAL-TV began promoting the Weather Center with a non-stop campaign based on the slogan “Wired for Weather!” The promos featured a lightning bolt, thunder-clap and announcer voice telling viewers that WRAL-TV was indeed “wired for weather” and ready for anything Mother Nature could throw their way!

The television station would also undergo change to create a new home for the growing staff of weathercasters. WRAL-TV built a modern, multi-function weather office adjacent to the main anchor desk in the newsroom. This allowed meteorologists to gather data, prepare forecasts and present the weather from one location without having to move to a separate studio. This built-in logistical advantage would pay dividends sooner than anyone could imagine.

The WRAL Weather Center officially premiered the week of January 11, 1982, and right on cue—North Carolina was hit by a winter storm that dumped half a foot of snow on the Triangle. Bob DeBardelaben, Greg Fishel and the rest of the Weather Center team jumped into action to provide non-stop coverage and scientific analysis from their impressive new quarters.

The well-timed snowstorm showcased WRAL’s new scientific team and cemented the station’s image as the Triangle weather leader. Not long after the snowfall the manager of another station in the market was quoted saying “I don’t mind competing against WRAL, but there is no way we can compete against God.”

The Weather Center set the stage for a wave of new technology that would further distinguish the station in the Triangle. WRAL was the first station in the region to buy and operate a state-of-the-art Doppler radar. In 1997 WRAL premiered “Doppler 5000,” which gave Weather Center staffers the ability to track storms and analyze severe weather with their own dedicated radar. The 250,000-watt unit was built by Baron Services in Huntsville, AL; it was installed near the WRAL transmitter facility in Auburn, NC.

In 2007 WRAL became one of the first stations in the country to deploy a revolutionary dual-polarization Doppler radar. Dubbed “Dual Doppler 5000,” the new unit features one million watts of power—enough to punch through the heaviest rain and snow to give meteorologists an amazing view of the inside of the storm. WRAL put this new capability to dramatic on-air use in April 2011 when meteorologists were able to detect tornadic debris as they monitored severe storms sweeping through the state.

From the beginning, innovation has been the hallmark of the WRAL Weather Center. WRAL’s six fulltime meteorologists are constantly finding new ways to forecast the weather. WRAL was one of the first TV stations in the country to partner with a university to develop and use an exclusive forecasting model. WRAL and NC State joined forces to develop a complex computer model that was later sold to a weather information company and incorporated into weather forecasts throughout the country.

Today Weather Center staffers are exploring ways to use computer model ensembles as well as higher-resolution versions of the models other stations use, to explain what the weather is doing and how it will affect viewers. In the end, the WRAL Weather Center remains focused on three primary goals: keeping citizens safe, providing them what they need to know to plan their day, and educating them on the processes by which the weather affects them.

News programming is at the very heart of Capitol Broadcasting’s mission statement. CBC Founder A.J. Fletcher promised that his company would provide news and information “without bias or favor,” and CBC news operations have followed that guideline as a core value.

Over the last six decades WRAL-TV News has distinguished itself as one of the premier television news operations in the country. Central to the success of WRAL-TV News is its award-winning staff of journalists, who report and produce some of the best television newscasts in the nation.