WRAL's Bill Leslie gives a thumbs up as he starts his 32-story descent.
Brandy Lail at the front desk probably said it best: Watching you rappel down that building was both terrific and terrifying. I wouldn't call myself an adrenaline junkie but Over the Edge was right up there among the most exciting yet frightening things I've ever done.
After a clumsy start when my legs folded like an auditorium chair I was able to refocus and form the perfect L with my body and lean back into a hammock of air. I locked the speed control device in my left hand and waited for the show to begin.
The show was WRAL's Noon News and the start of Elizabeth Gardner's first weather segment. Elizabeth, who went Over the Edge in 2012, led the live questioning with Michelle Marsh and Lynda Loveland. My goal was simple: to project a calm and positive attitude to the ordeal that would take me 30 floors down the face of the Wells Fargo Building in Raleigh.
Other than a quick three-story practice rappel in September this was my first attempt at the sport. The advice that everyone gave me was don't look down. And I didn't. When I did get a little nervous I remembered how important this was. WRAL helped raise a record $200,000 for Special Olympics with 180 rappellers gliding down the glass and concrete over two days.
Our broadcast on Friday was truly a team effort. Tony Gupton led the engineering cause. Tony rarely makes a mistake. That's because he thinks of everything that can go wrong and prepares for it. Tony had seen a similar network broadcast recently and noticed that the rappeller's audio dropped out about half way down. Tony's solution was for me to wear two microphones with one receiver at the top of the building and other at the bottom. It worked ! I also wore two different ear pieces again, to duplicate my communication with the station.
The WRAL team included Keith Baker who rappelled down the building next to me. Keith sported a camera on his helmet to capture the thrill and occasional panic of a newsman out of his element. Up top Ed Wilson manned his camera and Tony Patterson provided engineering assistance. The street level camera was manned by Tom Normanly. Tony Gupton orchestrated Over the Edge in a truck on Fayetteville Street. We also used a tall camera position back at the station to show a tiny silhouette of Keith and me rappelling. Everything worked to perfection.
If there was a hitch it was my sense of timing. I actually rappelled too fast for broadcast purposes. We started the trip down with the first weather report in WRAL's Noon News and the goal was the end in the weather during the second half hour. I was zipping down at a rate of about three floors per minute. Producer Miriam Melvin asked me to slow down. So I stopped for two five minute rests and waved at the people inside Wells Fargo Building.
The end was sweet. On the 12th floor I could hear the sweet sounds from Wide Open Bluegrass. By floor five I could smell some delicious food cooking on the street and then came the thunderous cheers of the crowd gathered at the bottom. My wife, Cindy, rushed to give me a passionate kiss when I hit the ground. I was escorted to a podium where Keith Baker and I accepted our medals for making the descent.
My immediate thought was I wouldn't mind doing this again or something else like this. Two days later I received a call from the Golden Knights asking me if I'd like to jump out of an airplane with the US Army's crack parachute team. I told them: You bet I would!
WRAL-TV Anchor Bill Leslie participated in the Over the Edge fundraiser for Special Olympics NC on Friday, October 3, 2014.
Thanks to WRAL-TV's Bill Leslie for this capcom story and to Bob Ayers & Megan O'Donnell for these capcom photos.
A volunteer helps WRALs Bill Leslie get all his safety gear secured for his Over the Edge rappel.
WRALs Keith Baker gets ready to do double duty rappelling and capturing Bill Leslie on camera.
WRALs Bill Leslie gets ready to go Over the Edge.
WRALs Bill Leslie gets ready to go Over the Edge as WRALs Ed Wilson captures him on camera.
WRALs Bill Leslie goes Over the Edge for NC Special Olympics.
WRALs Bill Leslie starts his 32-story descent.
WRALs Keith Baker gets ready to go Over the Edge.
WRALs Keith Baker goes over the edge.
WRALs Bill Leslie gets ready to go Over the Edge.
WRALs Keith Baker carries his camera on his helmet.
WRALs Bill Leslie gives a thumbs up as he starts his 32-story descent.
WRALs Bill Leslie literally going over the edge.
WRALS Bill Leslie (left) and WRALs Keith Baker rappel down the Wells Fargo building as WRALs Ed Wlison captures them from above.
WRALs Bill Leslie (right) makes his way down the Wells Fargo building as WRALs Keith Baker captures the action on camera.
WRALs Ed Wilson captures the action from the top of the Wells Fargo Building.
WRAL.com live-streamed Leslies Over the Edge experience while the WRAL Noon News showed live shots throughout the newscast.
WRALs Keith Baker (right) tries some acrobatics to get the right camera angle to capture WRALs Bill Leslie for the noon news.
WRALs Bill Leslie makes his way down the Wells Fargo building.
WRALs Bill Leslie is relieved to have made it safely to the ground.
WRALs Bill Leslie is happy as his feet hit solid ground.
WRALs Bill Leslie finishes his descent with a nod towards WRALs Tom Normanly who has been capturing the action from the ground.
WRALs Bill Leslie gets a big kiss from his wife, Cindy, after he makes it safely to the ground.
A happy Bill Leslie poses with two Special Olympians after his Over the Edge climb is done.
WRALs Bill Leslie is all smiles after he finishes his Over the Edge rappel.
WRALs Keith Baker poses with two Special Olympians after his Over the Edge descent.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
WRAL's Bill Leslie gives a thumbs up as he starts his 32-story descent.
