Highlights for WRAL Documentaries

• FOCAL POINT Green Acres documentary 2006

  Focal Point: Green Acres looks at how development is affecting ordinary people and places across North Carolina. It examines development trends that may hold the key to managing growth in a way that protects important green spaces and it looks at how conservation groups are scrambling to protect land in the face of rapid growth and skyrocketing land prices.

  The program, hosted by WRAL News anchor Bill Leslie, aired Wednesday, August 9 2006.

• Searching for a Fix documentary

  “Searching for a Fix”

  Heroin is no longer a back-alley drug. It’s mainstream, in your neighborhood, and in homes just like yours. The path from prescription opioids like Oxycodone and Percocet to cheaper and more readily available heroin is a dangerous one.

  “Searching for a Fix” goes beyond the overwhelming statistics to tell intimate, personal stories of how this problem affects real people and devastates families just like yours in every corner of North Carolina. “In all of my years of documentary production, they were the most gut-wrenching and deeply personal interviews I’ve ever done. They were emotional, moving and eye-opening,” said WRAL Documentary Producer Clay Johnson.

  The program aired August 1, 2017

• WRAL Focal Point State of Minds

  Hosted by WRAL News anchor and reporter Cullen Browder, Focal Point: “State of Minds” profiles mentally ill patients, their families, providers and other people affected by mental health care reform in North Carolina. It looks at the challenges faced by patients and their families in a system that for many has become more complicated, confusing and harder to access. It investigates the controversial spending by some LME’s and the challenges faced by private companies as they try to provide mental health services in a more competitive environment that has driven some providers out of business.

  Producer and writer – Clay Johnson
  Photographer and editor – Jay Jennings
  Aired September 26, 2007

• Black and Blue documentary and forum

  The ambush-style killings of five Dallas police officers on July 7, 2016 ignited a conversation at WRAL-TV about how the station could respond, as tensions increased between police and the African-American community nationwide. After conversations with local leaders, WRAL began work on a documentary focused on shootings of black men in North Carolina, and the relationship between police departments and African American communities in Raleigh, Durham, and Fayetteville, NC.

  WRAL Documentary: Black & BlueThe WRAL Documentary, “Black and Blue,” was the first part of a two-hour community conversation on TV, web and social media. The documentary was simulcast on Capitol Broadcasting’s television stations and OTT channels. The exclusive online forum that followed, “Beyond Black and Blue,” was a critical conversation with law enforcement, faith leaders, and members of the black community. “Beyond Black and Blue” was live-streamed immediately following the premiere of the documentary and supported by additional station-produced online content.

  The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) honored Capitol Broadcasting Company with the coveted Service to Community Award at its annual Celebration of Service to America gala in Washington, DC on June 20, 2017.

  Documentary hosted by WRAL News anchor Gerald Owens.
  Forum discussion moderated by Tru Pettigrew.
  Aired December, 2016.

• America’s Favorite Journey: The Blue Ridge Parkway

  America’s Favorite Journey: The Blue Ridge Parkway

  The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most popular destination in our national park system, hosting about 17 million visitors a year.

  Nearly half the 469-mile route runs through North Carolina, including its highest elevations. Some of the parkway’s iconic features are in our state, including its highest peak and the Linn Cove Viaduct at Grandfather Mountain.

  Visitors to the parkway generate more than $2 billion dollars a year for mountain communities. Its biological diversity, rich history and its parks and trails make the parkway a valuable educational and recreational resource.

  Host: WRAL News anchor Bill Leslie
  Producer/writer: Clay Johnson
  Photographer/editor: Jay Jennings

  America’s Favorite Journey’ aired June 29, 2010 on WRAL-TV.