WRAL Sets the Standard

Capitol’s WRAL Raleigh-Durham certainly seems to be doing a lot of things right in the #26 (and growing) DMA. One thing that struck me, though I didn’t have room in my profile of the market to mention it, is that the station site WRAL.com averages around 30 minutes per visitor, which VP/General Manager Steve Hammel says is tops in the country–and maybe 2-3 times the industry norm.

Of course a better reporter reporter with more time on his hands would’ve made some calls to Borrell Associates and the like to get a better feel for the industry average. Nonetheless, that 30 minutes average blew me away.

Hammel, who came to WRAL from Phoenix almost a year ago, talks about what sets the station apart in the new B&C. He’s keeping digital top of mind at WRAL. “Everyone who works for the station knows they work for the Website too,” he says. “It’s a cultural thing that takes time to develop at stations, and it was developed long before I got here.”

Fittingly, the WRAL folks are in Manhattan today to claim their Edward R. Murrow award for Best Website at the Grand Hyatt.