WRAL sports anchor Tom Suiter was inducted over the weekend into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Suiter has worked at the Raleigh-Durham CBS-affiliate since 1971. In 1981, he created “Football Friday,” a weekly show that features high school football highlights which he still anchors today.

The longtime sports anchor said he was “very honored” by the induction but said he was not sure he belonged in the Hall of Fame, recognizing “the coaches, the administrators, the athletic directors — those are the men and women who are around the kids every day,” according to the Technician Online. Read more

WRAL has promoted Jim Rothschild, who served as the CBS-affiliate’s director of station operations, to station manager.

Rothschild joined WRAL in 2010 after serving as director of operations at St. Louis’s KMOV, where he worked for nearly three decades.

“Jim is well known in our industry as a creative thinker, someone who truly understands the power of television to make a difference in the community,” WRAL vice president and general manager Steven Hammel said, in announcing the move.  “From day one he embraced the culture of community and innovation we cultivate at Capitol Broadcasting and WRAL-TV.”

WRAL is owned by Capitol Broadcasting, which owns and/or operates a handful of stations throughout North Carolina.

Raleigh CBS-affiliate WRAL debuted a revamped studio this week.

In the above video, anchor-reporter Brian Shrader gives a behind-the-scenes tour of the new space, which includes a renovated control room and a new set that boasts an 83-inch monitor. Read more

Jackie Hyland (pictured, right) who was cut loose from New York City’s WPIX in March when her contract was not renewed, will debut September 27 as evening anchor on WRAL, the CBS-affiliate in Raleigh-Durham.

Hyland’s addition to the news team was announced by the station along with a handful of changes to the talent lineup. Hyland will be paired with longtime WRAL anchor Gerald Owens on the 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts; she will replace anchor Debra Morgan, who will take over the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts from Pam Saulsby.

Saulsby, who has been with the station since 1991, is leaving to pursue “other opportunities outside of the station,” according to the WRAL release. She will continue to co-anchor the noon newscast until later this fall, but her final evening newscasts will be later this week. Read more

On Thursday, “Early Show” anchor Chris Wragge spoke with local political reporters from three CBS-affiliates, asking them for insight on how Obama’s jobs plan is being received in the states where the President has recently visited.

Appearing on the show via satellite were Sam Brock of Richmond’s WTVR; David Crabtree of Raleigh’s WRAL; and Jim Heath of WBNS in Columbus.

Video inside… Read more

Raleigh CBS-affiliate WRAL was the victim of a prank phone call during its hurricane coverage this weekend.  A man claiming to be a representative of North Carolina Emergency Management gave a live update on the effects of the storm, and added an interesting theory about its origin (video above).

Jayne Hodak, who has been serving as WJRT‘s acting news director since April, has officially been named newsroom boss at the Flint ABC-affiliate.

Hodak, WJRT’s assistant news director for the past eight years, took over for longtime news director Jim Bleicher upon his recent departure.  Bleicher, who had been with WJRT for over two decades, left as SJL Broadcasting took over ownership of the station.

“It’s very bittersweet for me,” Hodak told TVSpy recently about her promotion, saying that Bleicher was her mentor.

“It was really hard in the beginning,” Hodak said of Bleicher’s exit as well as a handful of other staff changes made under the new ownership, “but the focus is now on the day-to-day job of providing the most hours of local news in the market.” Read more

Andrea Parquet-Taylor has been tapped to lead the news department at Raleigh’s WNCN. Parquet-Taylor is a veteran of the market, having previously worked as news director for rival station WRAL.

“Andrea is a strategic thinker who has successfully built news operations, developed award-winning investigative teams and built strong breaking news and severe weather coverage systems,” said WNCN vice president and general manager Brad Moses in announcing the move. “She has a passion for journalism and understands it is important to produce great storytelling in a multiple-platform environment.  We’re excited to have her lead our news operation.”

Parquet-Taylor comes to the NBC-affiliate from Houston’s KHOU, where she recently worked as assistant news director. After her previous stop in Raleigh, she served as news director of WXYZ in Detroit.

Her first day will be May 2nd.