Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Making the Season Merry, Festive and Safe: Behind the Scenes of the WRAL Tower Lighting Special

04/12/2020

Producing the WRAL Tower Lighting is my favorite assignment every year. Every year, its amazing how many people from various departments come together for this project.

WRAL-TV News Producer Kelly Riner

WRAL-TV's Kelly Riner is festively decked and ready to produce the 2020 WRAL-TV, American Tobacco & Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

WRAL-TV supersized the tower lighting for 2020, combining the lighting celebrations from American Tobaccos Lucky Strike Tower, the Rocky Mount Mills Water Tower and the WRAL-TV Tower into one, live half-hour special. Because of the pandemic, in-person events could not take place, so CBC found a way to bring all three tower lightings to everyone in the Triangle.

WRAL-TV News Producer Kelly Riner did not let the changes for 2020 get her down. She still decked out in her festive best and produced the special which aired live on Tuesday, December 1.

Producing the WRAL Tower Lighting is my favorite assignment every year, she said. Every year, its amazing how many people from various departments come together for this project.

Riner was thrilled that WRAL-TV expanded their usual scope this year to include Rocky Mount Mills and the American Tobacco Campus in the special.

Capcom talked to Riner about how WRAL tackled the unique challenges to producing an expanded tower lighting special during the time of COVID:

The excitement leading up to the event was incredible, especially considering the unique challenges the pandemic brings for all us professionally and personally. Safety was our number one priority as we set out to continue this special WRAL tradition.

Our meetings were all virtual. We staged everything with a broad footprint to allow for maximum social distancing. We encouraged viewers to stay at home. A couple of our performances were pre-recorded to keep the artists and our crews safe. Staff who regularly work from home and in the field came in to help with guests, so those of us inside the building had no potential exposures. We used a different phone line so field producers didnt have to borrow headsets. Really, everything was taken into consideration.

Each department head and manager made sure everything looked great and we were all safe. It was much appreciated.

Behind the scenes at the 2020 WRAL-TV, American Tobacco & Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

One thing about the tower lighting special did not change this year. Riner did not hold back on donning her more festive apparel.

If anyone saw me on Tower Lighting day, I was dressed in Christmas light-themed attire from head to toe, literally, she said. It was a bit silly and quite a sight but I hope, just like the special, that it brought some cheer during an otherwise sad and scary time.

She has collected fun outfit pieces over the years, and several close to her pitched in new pieces this year, including a holiday facemask.

My accessories were all gifts from co-workers and friends who know just how much joy and enthusiasm I have for the Tower Lighting production and for this gift WRAL gives to the community each year!! said Riner.

WRAL viewers can see the WRAL-TV tower, American Tobaccos Lucky Strike Tower and the water tower at Rocky Mount Mills aglow every night now through the new year. Those lights are something that will go on despite COVID.

Im looking forward to next year when we can all be closer together, high five, and hug, said Riner. Until then, if you see anything with holiday lights, consider adding it to your wardrobe this season. I guarantee, just like the beautiful Capitol Broadcasting towers do, you, too, can spread a little hope and cheer.

Thanks to WRAL-TVs Kelly Riner for these capcom photos.

WRAL-TVs Kelly Riner is festively decked and ready to produce the 2020 WRAL-TV, American Tobacco & Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

Behind the scenes at the 2020 WRAL-TV, American Tobacco & Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

Behind the scenes at the 2020 WRAL-TV, American Tobacco & Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

The 2020 WRAL-TV, American Tobacco & Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

The 2020 Rocky Mount Mills Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

The 2020 WRAL-TV Tower Lighting (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)

The festive dream team: WRAL-TVs Kelly Riner & WRAL-TVs Jeremy Spearman. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Riner)
LINK: https://www.capitolbroadcasting.com/2020/12/04/making-the-season-merry...
See more stories from cbc

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

17/03/2026

NAB Appoints Two New Members to Television Board of Directors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

PMVG's TechConnect Goes Virtual for 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

Miris unlocks high-fidelity 3D asset streaming at scale

3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced the launch of a public beta for its new 3D asset streaming platform. Miris is building the infrastruc...

17/03/2026

Tedial Powers the Future of Media Operations at NAB Show...

As media organizations face mounting pressure to produce more content, faster, while maximizing value and operational efficiency, Tedial, a leading provider of ...

17/03/2026

Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability wit...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is launching the newest version of its platform, Brainstorm Suite 7,...

17/03/2026

Limecraft Introduces New Platform Update Adding Greater C...

Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.2, the second platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform ...

17/03/2026

Pioneering the Next Era of Sports Broadcasting - Broadcas...

Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, showcased its latest broadcast and V...

17/03/2026

SES Launches Cash Tender Offer

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE ...

17/03/2026

FCC Announces TV Translator Call Sign Changes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Offering Free Show Floor Passes to Creators

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202

QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202 Brie Clayton March 16, 2026 0 Comments The Multi-platform Remote Gues...

17/03/2026

Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton March 16, 2026 0 Comments Sonnenfeld enhances the controlled interplay between warm and c...

17/03/2026

New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be Featured in NAB Booth #W2910

New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be...

17/03/2026

Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educators

Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educa...

17/03/2026

Fantasy Action Series Agent from Above' Puts Contemporary Spin on Temple Culture and Traditional Folklore in New Trailer

Back to All News Fantasy Action Series Agent from Above' Puts Contemporary...

17/03/2026

Netflix Presents the Trailer for the Final Season of 'Turn of the Tide'

Back to All News Netflix Presents the Trailer for the Final Season of Turn of the Tide Entertainment 17 March 2026 GlobalSpainPortugal Link copied to clipb...

17/03/2026

Snap Decisions: How Open Libraries for Accelerated Data Processing Boost A/B Testing for Snapchat

The features on social media apps like Snapchat evolve nearly as fast as what...

17/03/2026

GTC Spotlights NVIDIA RTX PCs and DGX Sparks Running Latest Open Models and AI Agents Locally

The paradigm of consumer computing has revolved around the concept of a personal...

16/03/2026

DAZN to Stream NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tourneys Free in Select International Markets

DAZN will allow fans in select international territories to watch the NCAA men&#...

16/03/2026

IDM and Skate Board Association Announce Arena and Training Complex Planned for Big Bear Lake

IDM and The Skate Board Association (SBA) have announced a partnership with Coop...

16/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic Introduces ST 2110-to-Dante Converter

Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the Net I/O ST 2110 Bridge at NAB 2026 (booth C6907), a standalone unit that converts between ST 2110 and Dante audio formats...

16/03/2026

NAB 2026: Marshall Electronics Launches First 4K All-IP Weatherproof NDI Camera

Marshall Electronics (Booth C8339) is introducing its first all-IP 4K POV camera, the CV574-WP, at NAB 2026. The camera carries an IP67 weatherproof rating for ...

16/03/2026

Sony Expands Camera Authenticity Solution to Support Video

Sony Electronics' Camera Verify (beta), a feature of its Camera Authenticity Solution which enables news organizations to share content authenticity informa...

16/03/2026

FloSports and Storied Sports Partner on Women's and College Sports Content

FloSports has announced a partnership with Storied Sports, a content and IP studio founded by former espnW and The Players' Tribune executives, to develop s...

16/03/2026

Montreux Jazz Festival Names Gravity Media as A/V Production Provider

Montreux Jazz Festival has announced a multi-year collaboration with Gravity Media, who will become the Festival's Audio Visual Production Provider followin...

16/03/2026

USSI Global Names Ralph Annunziata Senior Vice President of Operations

USSI Global, a provider of customized network, broadcast and digital signage systems and services, has announced Ralph Annunziata joined the company on Jan. 5 a...

16/03/2026

NAB 2026: Boland Communications to Show New OLED Displays and Video Wall Applications

Boland Communications (booth C3519) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas, ...

16/03/2026

ST 2110 On The Go? A Peek Inside BRISK, FOX Sports' Broadcast Remote IP Studio Kit

Built in partnership with Diversified, the system As the sports broadcast indus...

16/03/2026

Amagi Report: FAST Viewership Up 21%, AI Adoption Growing Across Media Operations

Global FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) viewership grew 21% year-over-year ...

16/03/2026

Behind The Mic: Netflix, NBC Tap Matt Vasgersian to Call MLB and Tony Dungy Is Out at NBC

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

16/03/2026

Cloudvocal launch the SonoFlex instrument mic

Promises studio-grade fidelity for the stage Cloudvocal have announced the launch of a new instrument mic designed for professional live performers and engi...

16/03/2026

Kenton reveal the USB Solo Mk2

Popular MIDI/CV converter & interface overhauled Kenton have announced the launch of the USB Solo Mk2, a new and improved version of their compact MIDI to C...

16/03/2026

Sonarworks Spring Sale

Running from 16-29 March 2026 Starting from today (16 March) and running until 29 March 2026, Sonarworks are offering discounts of up to 40% across their ra...

16/03/2026

L3Harris Carries Goddard's Legacy Into a New Era

Dr. Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts. Credit: NASA....

16/03/2026

L3Harris Military GPS Receiver Deliveries Surpass 100,000 Units

Precision-guided munitions shown in production illustrate one of many operational systems benefiting from modernized M-Code GPS, supporting assured positioning,...

16/03/2026

A+E Global Media Signs New Multiyear Deal With Nielsen Covering Audience Measurement and Media Intelligence

NEW YORK - March 16, 2026 - A E Global Media and Nielsen today announced a new,...

16/03/2026

aconnic ramping up delivery of commercial 100-gigabit system

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is delivering the first commercial 100-Gigabit systems following successful validation and certification for customer n...

16/03/2026

Spectrum Launches Multiview for March Madness

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

Ikegami To Spotlight Latest UNICAM 4K-UHD Cameras At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

A+E Global Media Signs New Agreement With Nielsen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

Shotoku Brings Broadcast-Grade Control to PTZ with New Au...

Shotoku USA, Shotoku Broadcast Systems' North American operation, will unveil significant additions to its platform at NAB 2026. Topping the list is the wor...

16/03/2026

Ikegami to Showcase Latest Generation TV Production Camer...

Ikegami USA will demonstrate the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast-quality cameras, controllers and monitors on Central Hall booth C3819 during th...

16/03/2026

[Updated] Carr Threatens Broadcast Licenses Over Iran War Coverage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/03/2026

ELEMENTS launches GRID at NAB Show 2026

ELEMENTS launches GRID at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton March 15, 2026 0 Comments North Hall, Booth N1717 ELEMENTS returns to NAB Show 2026, with an exp...