WRAL TV

WRAL-TV Overall Excellence Murrow Awards entry 2010

The accompanying link highlights WRAL's television news coverage during 2010. Each weekday, the News Department produces eight hours of newscasts for two stations. On weekends, we air three hours per day. WRAL aggressively and effectively reports breaking news, demonstrated in our coverage of a courthouse fire, Target store shooting, and the exoneration of a man who spent 17-years in prison for murder. Our helicopter, Sky 5, carries a state-of-the-art, HD camera system and gives us an edge when news breaks. We excel during severe and wintry weather. The WRAL Weather Center serves our viewing area with two Dopplers, including the most sophisticated television radar in NC. We have six meteorologists with 120 years of forecasting experience. WRAL places heavy emphasis on investigating and enterprising stories. WRAL's investigative team looked into burial discrepancies at Arlington National Cemetery. We discovered a Raleigh veteran had visited his wife's grave for more than four years before learning it was empty. In 2010, WRAL was committed to helping World War II veterans see the memorial built in their honor. We raised more than $50,000 for the Flight of Honor program which sent 200 veterans to Washington, D.C. Our documentary unit produced several half-hour programs, including one on the veterans' experiences at the memorial and another on the military's efforts to educate soldiers about PTSD. Within days of the massive earthquake in Haiti, WRAL news crews were on the way to document the extraordinary destruction and relief effort. From local 82nd Airborne troops providing food and security to North Carolina medical teams saving lives, WRAL chronicled the heartbreak and hope. And the station raised more than $200,000 for Haitan relief. We don't shy away from issues, government, or politics. Our consumer and health units provide unique stories every weekday. Our Tar Heel Traveler showcases interesting characters and places across NC ... four days a week. We also have a number of weekly franchises: NC Wanted, Teacher of the Week, and the Extra Effort Award. With a combined tenure of 95+ years at WRAL, our sports staff shined during specials and live coverage of Duke University's national championship season. We also excelled in high school football coverage with our 30th season of Football Friday, a 30-minute program which covered 28+ games on average. WRAL has long been a technology leader, producing newscasts in High Definition for 10 years now. Beyond WRAL-TV proper, you can find our brand and product on four other television channels, eight radio stations, a newspaper web site, WRAL.com and WRAL Mobile. We're committed to making WRAL News available whenever, wherever, and however people choose to be informed.