We're saying goodbye today to WRAL reporter Erin Hartness, who has accepted a job at Duke University. She'll be the public relations manager for the Fuqua School of Business, which has satellite campuses around the world.

Erin joined WRAL News in 2007 and worked in our Durham bureau. Before that, she was a reporter at WYFF-TV in Greenville, S.C., an anchor at WDUN-FM in Gainsville, Ga., and a reporter at KSPR-TV in Springfield, Mo., and KOMU-TV in Columbia, Mo.

"Erin has done a really nice job in the Durham bureau. That's no easy accomplishment given the high demands and challenges there," said WRAL News Director Rick Gall. "Erin really worked her beats, enterprising and breaking stories. Her determination and dedication are impressive. Her insistence on accuracy and perspective in stories is admirable. Some of her finest work came in the last two years, as the UNC football investigation unfolded."

A Gainsville, Ga., native and graduate of the University of Missouri, Erin earned her Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1999. She has won two Southeast Regional Emmys for spot news, an Emmy for general assignment and various other Associated Press, South Carolina Broadcasters Association and RTNDAC awards.

“It has been an honor to be part of the WRAL family," Erin said. "I will greatly miss being a part of this news team, but am really excited about this opportunity at Duke. I would especially like to thank our viewers for allowing me to tell your stories during the past five years. It has been a privilege to be a reporter for the past 13 years.”