WRAL anchor David Crabtree is scaling back, but not retiring. Here’s how lineup changes
Updated March 22, 2022: WRAL anchor David Crabtree announced he will leave the station in May. For details on his next job, see this story.
Longtime WRAL anchor David Crabtree is scaling back his hours at the station, leaving the 5 p.m. newscast to devote his attention to co-anchoring the 6 p.m. slot.
The change, which takes effect next week, means a bit of shuffling in the anchor chairs: Gerald Owens will take over at 5 p.m. with Debra Morgan, and relative newcomers Chris Lovingood and Dan Haggerty have been added to the lineup.
Crabtree told The News & Observer that the decision to cut back was his.
“There are some major projects I’m working on that are going to be time-consuming in the next year or so, and I thought, to give myself energy, it’s better to come off a newscast,” Crabtree said on Friday.
Two of the projects on his list are at WRAL, but Crabtree said he is also working on a book about his experiences over the years counseling death row inmates.
Lead anchor since 1994
Crabtree, a Tennessee native, took over as lead anchor at WRAL when Charlie Gaddy retired in 1994.
“I have anchored both the 5 and the 6 for almost 28 years and I really love those newscasts — in particular the 6, because even in this age of people getting their information when and how they want it, and where they want it, that 6 o’clock newscast has still retained gravitas and it’s one I’m very proud of,” he said.
Crabtree had announced in the fall of 2017 that he planned to retire at the end of 2018, but changed his mind in 2018 and said he would stay through 2020. In the summer of 2020, Crabtree extended his contract with Capitol Broadcasting Company, the parent company of WRAL, saying he would stay on through 2021.
On Friday, Crabtree, 72, said he has no timeline in his head as far as when his retirement might happen. But he has talked to WRAL management about “knowing when it’s time to do that,” he said.
“The commitment I made is not to stay too long,” Crabtree said. “You’ll know if you’re off a beat or you don’t have the energy, or you don’t have the desire to still do this. That’s my commitment to them, and more importantly, that’s my commitment to myself.
“I’ve seen people in my business and other industries just stay too long and I don’t want to be that person,” he continued. “The Capitol Broadcasting Company has been too good to me, the broadcasting industry has been too good to me to do that.”
WRAL vice president and general manager Joel Davis said of the changes, “It’s a natural time of life for David to step back a bit. We’re very fortunate at WRAL that he’ll still be here anchoring our 6 p.m. news, and that we have long-time anchor Gerald Owens ready to step up and handle our 5 p.m.”
Davis also welcomes the chance for expanded roles for Haggerty and Lovingood. “They are both smart, curious journalists who are already making an impact with our viewers,” Davis said.
Crabtree also sees the value in letting others share the time on the anchor desk.
“I’ve been in broadcast journalism for 40 years and it’s time to give it up and pull back and to allow for new eyes, new energy, new vision in there,” Crabtree said. “That may sound like a prepared statement, but that’s really coming from my heart.”
The new WRAL afternoon/evening anchor lineup
4 p.m.: Lena Tillet and Dan Haggerty
4:30 p.m.: Lena Tillett and Chris Lovingood
5 p.m.: Debra Morgan and Gerald Owens
5:30 p.m.: Lena Tillett and Dan Haggerty
6 p.m.: Debra Morgan and David Crabtree
7 p.m.: Debra Morgan and Gerald Owens
10 p.m. (Fox): Lena Tillett and Gerald Owens
10:30 p.m. (Fox): Lena Tillett and Chris Lovingood
11 p.m.: Debra Morgan and Gerald Owens
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 2:19 PM with the headline "WRAL anchor David Crabtree is scaling back, but not retiring. Here’s how lineup changes."
