Joel Davis, Vice President/General Manager at WRAL TV and WRAZ TV in Raleigh, North Carolina, will share career and networking advice for students at the Greenlee School’s 2019 Futures Forum at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. The lecture will be located in the Memorial Union Campanile Room.
Davis, a 1988 Greenlee School graduate, has over 30 years of experience as a broadcast journalist and in news station management. In his presentation, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”, the Waverly, Iowa, native will share how his Greenlee School education has led to a successful career in broadcast and digital media, including memorable experiences covering overseas wars and interviewing future presidents.
After graduating and working as a reporter and anchor in Mason City, Iowa, Waterloo, Iowa, and Columbus, Ohio, Davis moved to California for his first venture into news station management. He worked as managing editor and later as the news director for KBAK TV in Bakersfield, California, and afterwards became news director at KFSN TV in Fresno, California.
From there he took a news management role at WFTV in Orlando, Florida, before returning to San Diego, California, to accept a news director role at KGTV. Davis was promoted to station manager in 2014, and then to vice president and general manager in 2016. In July 2018, he moved to Raleigh to assume his current positions the NBC and FOX affiliates WRAL TV and WRAZ TV.
Davis, a member of the Greenlee School Advisory Council, will also offer his perspective on the future of the communications industry, drawing on his experience with Capitol Broadcasting, a pioneer in digital broadcasting and the first station in the United States to broadcast in high definition. The station’s website WRAL.com, is also a leader in digital media as the third-most visited website in North Carolina, behind only Facebook and Google.
During his time as a journalism and mass communication major at Iowa State, he worked at WOI, the ABC affiliate in Des Moines which was once owned by Iowa State. This opportunity allowed him to work behind the scenes in between classes, and eventually as an on-air reporter for the station.
The Greenlee School’s Futures Forum is an annual event sponsored by William F. and Linda Z. Tubbs.