
A celebration for the 20th Anniversary of WRAL TechWire took place in the WRAL Media Buildings at CBC's Corporate Headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday, January 26, 2023. WRAL Digital's Rick Smith with one of the original staff members, Cindy Stranad, holding up a photo of the original staff.
Capitol Broadcasting marked a milestone for WRAL TechWire with a special celebration on Thursday, January 26, 2023. The technology-specific publication turned 20. Contributors both past and present came together to honor the evolution and progress of WRAL TechWire in the WRAL Media Buildings at CBC's Corporate Headquarters in Raleigh.
Speaking at the event WRAL Digital Business & Technology Manager Rick Smith hailed the partnership and synergy with the WRAL newsroom for enhancing the online entity originally established in Charlotte in 2002 and purchased by CBC in December 2005. The date for the celebration was chosen because 21 years ago to the day, the publication launched.
Last week Capcom featured WRAL TechWire and its history in honor of the event:
Capcom: WRAL TechWire Marks 20th Anniversary
Along with photos from the celebration, this Capcom piece expounds on another facet of the publication's history. Smith said WRAL Digital Director of Strategic Business Development James Amato believed in the mission of WRAL TechWire and helped bring it out from behind a paywall to a broader audience.
The future of WRAL TechWire remains bright in and of itself but also in the bold endeavors it's sparked and those of us who have embraced and contributed to its potential.
WRAL Digital's James Amato The future of WRAL TechWire remains bright in and of itself but also in the bold endeavors it's sparked and those of us who have embraced and contributed to its potential.
Amato came to CBC in December 2015, originally in sales for FOX 50. He spent over a decade in higher education, designing environments and programs that helped students thrive, and then briefly as Director of Major and Planned Giving at United Way of the Greater Triangle. Through both roles he connected with leaders and visionaries, championing causes that aligned with their passion. Through sales at CBC, he saw the potential of the digital offerings of our company.
WRAL TechWire was a natural path to embrace the opportunity while having something that I could leverage to serve Triangle regional leaders and execs who I served in nonprofit and to whom I desired to remain connected, said Amato.
A celebration for the 20th Anniversary of WRAL TechWire took place in the WRAL Media Buildings at CBC's Corporate Headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday, January 26, 2023. (l to r) WRAL Digital's Cassie Richardson, James Amato, Rick Smith, Katie Daugherty, Corp's Jim Goodmon & WRAL Digital's Quinn Novels
He credited a long list of CBC'ers who welcomed and embraced his desire to get involved with WRAL TechWire.
I credit this old guard' cohort of leaders with not only fostering my enthusiasm for sales of WRAL-TW but also my understanding of the business at large, said Amato. Why this is important is because these people not only served as my gateway to understanding the business and successfully selling it but also inspired me to consider unique ways to bridge the gap between news and sales and to leverage TW and other company assets to boldly address client and community challenges.
After Amato joined the team, the first WRAL TechWire client brought abroad was the City of Wilson, of which he said their ubiquitous, gigabit broadband is still (IMO) among the most unique of value propositions of any community in the state.
Amato continued, The City's desire to leverage TW as their regional megaphone served as an infusion paving the way for us to phase out the paywall but also the first of many logs on a fire now called Capitol B Creative Studios CBC's full service strategic and creative agency. The City of Wilson remains WRAL TW's most profound supporter and in 2020 became Capitol B's first client. The arrangement allowed us to become member number 1 of their Gig East Exchange Innovation Hub.
Since the partnership began, both WRAL TechWire and Capitol B Creative Studios have staffed an office at the facility in downtown Wilson serving the city, its innovators and entrepreneurs.
It serves as a lab for us to develop and test new service offerings and products while giving us a chance to share the thought leadership of our tremendously talented strategy, biz dev, and creative teams.
At the celebration Smith pointed out that technology is changing fast, giving WRAL TechWire much fuel for coverage. He has also added an array of contributors that give us wider voice and diversity.
Amato and Smith both see a bright digital road ahead for WRAL TechWire.
The future? said Amato. Consider this, in addition to being the state's go-to source for tech and innovation news and a place to boldly address client and community challenges, WRAL TW and its synergy with Capitol B Creative is also a source for fostering economic and workforce development the Hub of the company co-created BioJobs Campaign aimed at addressing the 15,000 person workforce shortfall facing the multi-billion dollar industry mountains to coast. My assessment? The future of WRAL TechWire remains bright in and of itself but also in the bold endeavors it's sparked and those of us who have embraced and contributed to its potential.
A celebration for the 20th Anniversary of WRAL TechWire took place in the WRAL Media Buildings at CBC's Corporate Headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday, January 26, 2023. WRAL Digital's Rick Smith with one of the original staff members, Cindy Stranad, holding up a photo of the original staff. WRAL Digital's Rick Smith shared a photo of the original staff of WRAL T
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
22/09/2026
From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...
22/09/2026
The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...
22/09/2026
Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...
22/09/2026
The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...
22/09/2026
Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...
22/09/2026
Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...
22/09/2026
Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...
22/09/2026
Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...
22/09/2026
Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...
22/09/2026
Second high-gain tone plug-in released
Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...
22/09/2026
Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency
Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...
22/09/2026
Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems
Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...
22/09/2026
Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins.
Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...
22/09/2026
Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...
22/09/2026
VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...
22/09/2026
Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...
22/09/2026
OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
Image courtesy of Deposit Photos
Business and ...
22/09/2026
Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
From Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and BAFTA-winning director Marian Mo...
22/09/2026
Tuesday 22 September 2026
Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts with ...
22/09/2026
Whether it be from the sun or from our phones and other devices, we are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation in some shape or form. With the dramatic growth...
22/09/2026
Comscore's latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition Intensifying as C...
22/09/2026
The Factory-X Project Sets Standards for Data Sovereignty in Industry
Arvato Systems Brings Digital Sovereignty to Industrial Practice
Factory-X Successfully...
22/09/2026
LONDON Apple today announced the opening of Apple Music Hall, a brand-new state-...
22/09/2026
RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists
to respon...
22/09/2026
To build and deploy sophisticated robotics applications that can perceive, reason and act in dynamic environments, developers need new physical AI models and to...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies, developer of software-defined, FPGA-accelerated infrastructure for live production, has named Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer...
21/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has won Best Journal Article at the 2026 IAMT Impact Awards for What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them,...
21/09/2026
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced a streaming distribution agreement with Tubi for its weekly series MLW FUSION. Beginning September 17, new episodes w...
21/09/2026
Disney Entertainment has announced that Adam Smith has been named Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, with responsibility for Disney and Hulu including product, engi...
21/09/2026
United Airlines and DISH have announced an agreement to bring live professional ...
21/09/2026
SES and JioStar have announced a multi-year agreement under which SES will provide satellite distribution services for JioStar's television channel portfoli...
21/09/2026
The Detroit Red Wings have announced details for their inaugural season on Detro...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies has appointed Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer for North America, effective October 1, 2026. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Wi...
21/09/2026
Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the local television home of the Los Angeles...