Highlights for John Hudson

• SKY 5 Directs Boy Scout River Rescue

  SKY 5 pilot Mike Allen finds two missing boy scouts and their scoutmaster clinging to trees after their canoes overturned in the Cape Fear River in Harnett County.

  Since SKY 5 is not equipped with rescue gear, the National Guard helicopter was called to execute the rescue., while SKY 5 oversaw the direction.

  Circa 1983.

• 400th Anniversary Voyage from England to NC Action News 5 Newscast

  April 27, 1984 commemorated the 400th anniversary of the voyage from Plymouth, England to the shores of what is now is now North Carolina. Earlier in the day, WRAL aired the ceremonies LIVE via satellite from Plymouth, England. That broadcast can be viewed on this website.

  The anniversary celebration was the lead story on the 6 PM newscast. WRAL News anchor Charlie Gaddy reported LIVE from England. He is interviewed by WRAL News anchors Adele Arakawa and John Hudson.

• That’s “Bubba” in the Middle. WRAL News Anchor John Hudson

  From left to right we see Ray Wilkinson, CBC VP and President of Ag News, WRAL News anchor/reporter John Hudson and WRAL reporter Fred Taylor. The picture was taken in Studio A on September 28, 1989. The occasion was a
• WRAL Morning Newscast coverage of tornado damage Nov 28, 1988

  At 1:00 AM on November 28, 1988 a ferocious F4 tornado touched down in Raleigh, North Carolina. The most intense damage occurred over northwestern Raleigh where the tornado traveled through densely populated areas near major intersections. Many large businesses were damaged or destroyed including a K-Mart. There were two reported fatalities and 105 injuries across Raleigh as the tornado tracked across several subdivisions.

  WRAL News anchor Charlie Gaddy became the field anchor as he not only reported on the damage, he brought a sense of calm and genuine compassion to those who survived and then share their experiences. Gaddy also provided live reports to CBS News.

  This video is WRAL Morning News with anchor John Hudson, just a few hours after the tornado tore through northwestern Raleigh. The light of day revealed the devastation.

• WRAL First HD Newscast at State Fair

  WRAL-TV led the nation in the development of High Definition broadcasting. On October 13, 2000 WRAL made history by broadcasting the entire 5:00 PM newscast LIVE in HD from the State Fair. The historic newscast was broadcast from a special stage at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh. The broadcast came just days after WRAL announced it was purchasing equipment from Panasonic to allow the station to gather all of its news stories in the 1080i format. WRAL was the first in the country to convert its entire news operation into HD. This video documents the historic moment from a behind-the-scenes perspective.

  In 1996, WRAL was the first station in the nation to start broadcasting in HD even though most viewers did not have an HD television set.