Outlet profile

WRAL (Raleigh, NC)

U.S. center-left

Owned byCapitol Broadcasting Company, a privately held company owned by the Fletcher-Goodmon family (now in its fourth generation); Jim Goodmon serves as president and CEO

FundingPrimarily advertising-supported (broadcast TV and digital advertising); supplemental revenue from digital services and sponsored content; no state or public funding

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Capitol Broadcasting Company was founded in 1937 by attorney A.J. Fletcher, who launched WRAL Radio (AM 1240) in Raleigh in 1938. WRAL-TV went on the air on December 15, 1956, making it one of the earliest TV stations in the Carolinas; its 1,100-foot transmission tower was at the time the tallest east of the Mississippi River. The station launched as an NBC affiliate, switched to ABC in 1962, and has been a CBS affiliate since 1985. Jim Goodmon, A.J. Fletcher's great-nephew, assumed the presidency of Capitol Broadcasting in 1975 and has led the company since, making it one of the few remaining family-owned broadcast companies in the United States, now in its fourth generation of family ownership. WRAL.com has grown into a major regional digital news outlet drawing roughly 4 million unique visitors per month. Media Bias/Fact Check rates WRAL as Left-Center biased with a high factual reporting record, reflecting an editorial posture that tends to report critically on Republican-led policies. During the Trump administration's second term (beginning January 2025), WRAL has published ongoing fact-checks of presidential statements and has covered local and national opposition to administration policies on immigration, tariffs, and other issues.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-07-10; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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