Many WRAL reporters and anchors have left the station in 2025. Here’s a list
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- Five longtime WRAL anchors and reporters left the station so far during 2025.
- Departures include Gilbert Baez, Debra Morgan, Julian Grace, Aaron Thomas and Jeff Hogan.
- Leadership also changed as Joel Davis left and Heather Gray replaced him as general manager.
Several longtime WRAL reporters and anchors have left the station in recent months.
Since the beginning of the year, five anchors and reporters, who each spent between six and more than 30 years there, have moved on to new endeavors.
Their departures are in addition to those of people who stayed at the station for shorter periods, including meteorologist Anthony Baglione, who left WRAL in June.
At least one station leader, former WRAL and Fox 50 general manager Joel Davis, also left WRAL this year. Heather Gray, who has worked for WRAL parent company Capitol Broadcasting Co. since 2017, is now vice president and general manager of WRAL and Fox 50.
Gilbert Baez was first major WRAL departure of 2025
At the beginning of the year, Gilbert Baez left WRAL, after the station did not renew his contract. Baez was a presence at WRAL, working there from 1989-96 and from 2014-25, and was known for his coverage of Fayetteville, although he also reported on the weather.
After leaving WRAL, Baez took at job at WFNC, hosting “Good Morning Fayetteville.”
While he had spent decades on television, Baez is no stranger to radio, at different points working as an announcer, news director, program director and disc jockey. He taught speaking for radio and television, radio editing, and television and radio production at Campbell University, where he was on staff from 1990 to 2005.
In addition to his role at WFNC, Baez is also hosting a television show, “Air Angels: Flight Helene,” which tells the stories of pilots who helped in repair and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Helene.
“I’m very proud of that opportunity for us to tell some some good news,” he previously told The News & Observer.
Debra Morgan leaves after 32 years
The next major departure came in late May, when Debra Morgan anchored her final newscasts for WRAL. Morgan joined the station as an anchor in 1993, spending most of her time as co-anchor alongside Gerald Owens during the evening programs at 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m.
Capitol Broadcasting Co. announced that she would leave in April.
“Debra has been a trailblazer in our business and a newsroom leader — and she’s a great human being,” WRAL news director Mike Friedrich previously told The N&O.
Before she left WRAL, she said in a newscast that it was “a good time to just step away and enjoy some things that I haven’t been able to enjoy ever.”
During her time at WRAL, Morgan covered stories such as the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. She is a 12-time Emmy Award winner and multiple winner of the Anchor of the Year award by the NC Association of Broadcasters and RTNDAC.
At the end of her final newscast as a WRAL anchor, the station played a special message from North Carolina native and country musician Scotty McCreery, who said, “here’s to a happy retirement.”
Julian Grace leaves WRAL after 6 years
Julian Grace was an anchor/reporter at the station for six years.
“It was an amazing journey filled with strong leadership, supportive management, and some of the most talented coworkers I’ve ever worked with,” Grace wrote in an email to The N&O. “Beyond anchoring and reporting, I had the opportunity to dive into projects like a documentary, a podcast, and even work in an augmented reality studio. It was a fun and fulfilling ride. “But the most rewarding part by far was serving the people of the Triangle,” Grace said. “Their support has been nothing short of extraordinary.”
Grace said he and his wife discussed stepping away from news during the COVID-19 pandemic, and when his contract with WRAL ended in June 2025, he decided to shift his focus to sharing his first book, “Don’t Miss the Scriptures.” He described it as a reflection on God’s love, protection and correction, illustrated through short news stories he covered while in North Carolina, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Michigan.
The book is available in public libraries in Wake County and Durham, and can be purchased on Amazon.
Grace told The N&O that he and his family plan to stay in North Carolina.
NC native Aaron Thomas leaves WRAL
Aaron Thomas, who worked as a reporter at WRAL, left the station Monday, June 16 after six years.
“I’m honored to have served my hometown and community as a journalist,” Thomas said in an email to The N&O at the time. “These past six years at WRAL have been incredibly meaningful. Leaving an amazing station with talented people was not an easy decision but this felt like the right time. I’m looking forward to starting new chapter that aligns with my current career goals.”
Thomas was born in Fayetteville and graduated from N.C. State University. Before joining WRAL in 2019, he was a reporter/multimedia journalist at ABC affiliate WRIC-TV in Richmond Virginia, and previously worked at CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV in State College, Pennsylvania, as a reporter/multimedia journalist.
He now works at NBC affiliate WLWT News 5 in Cincinnati, Ohio, as an anchor/reporter.
Jeff Hogan’s departure marks another anchor lineup change
Jeff Hogan’s last day on air as a WRAL anchor was Wednesday, Aug. 13.
He now works as an evening news anchor at WBNS in Columbus, Ohio.
“This was a tough decision,” Hogan said in a news release. “WRAL has been more than a newsroom — it’s been family. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to return to a place that means a lot to me, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
Hogan started at the station in January 2018 and was announced as the replacement for Bill Leslie, who announced in 2017 that he would retire after more than three decades at WRAL.
Since Hogan’s departure, Chris Lovingood stepped into the role of co-anchor of WRAL Morning News alongside Renee Chou.
Capitol bureau chief Laura Leslie leaves
Laura Leslie, who joined WRAL in 2011, will leave WRAL and move into an editorial role at a nonprofit news organization.
The last day on air for the station’s capitol bureau chief will be Friday, Sept. 5.
Leslie came to WRAL from WUNC, where she was capitol bureau chief.
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Many WRAL reporters and anchors have left the station in 2025. Here’s a list."
