WRAL honored by state, national broadcasters' groups

Tuesday was a day for celebration for WRAL-TV and its corporate partners, as the station took home major honors from two industry groups.

At the annual North Carolina Association of Broadcasters conference in Greensboro, WRAL won two of four television awards, and Capitol Broadcasting Company's sports radio property took home another pair of honors.

The moment was especially poignant for WRAL-TV General Manager, Steve Hammel, who as president of NCAB, presented the awards.

"I am delighted the judges recognized the high caliber of work for both awards," Hammel said. "That work is representative of the high standards our team has on a daily basis."

WRAL-TV was honored for Outstanding Newscast and for Outstanding Sports Story or Series.

The sports award was for coverage of the 2014 Men's and Women's U.S. Open in Pinehurst, which included daily, live reports from a team on the scene and two special programs.

"These two awards reflect different kinds of reporting and showcase the great range we have in news coverage,” said Rick Gall, WRAL-TV news director. “I couldn't be more proud of the entire newsroom staff, many of whom contributed in some way to these entries.”

“I’ll toss aside the self-deprecating humor, which is how we typically deal with any sort of recognition, in favor of thanking everyone at Capitol Broadcasting for allowing us to be, well, us," Ovies said.

On Tuesday evening, Rick Gall traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept the National Association of Broadcasters' Service to Community Award for efforts to raise awareness about domestic violence.

When the issue became a national focus after a videotape showed NFL player Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee, Kline and the CBC team took it a step further. WRAL-TV anchors participated in a commercial, which aired regularly during NFL games, urging viewers to "say enough to domestic violence," and the station hosted a four-hour telethon allowing victims to seek help and ask questions over the phone and on social media.

"eNOugh has brought out the best in each of us and the best in Capitol Broadcasting  Company," Kline said. "The Service to Community Award was earned by all of us at CBC."