A well-known WRAL reporter has left the station. What he told us about his new job
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- WRAL reporter Aaron Thomas will leave the station on Monday, June 16.
- Thomas, a two-time Emmy winner, joined WRAL in 2019 after two prior TV roles.
- The NC State alumnus will take a month to "recharge" and "reset."
A WRAL reporter and North Carolina native is leaving the station after six years.
Aaron Thomas’ last day at WRAL was Monday, June 16, according to social media posts announcing the news.
“This wasn’t an easy decision,” Thomas wrote in a Facebook post. “Reporting for my hometown TV station has been a blessing and a dream fulfilled. YEARS of prayer and self-reflection led to the conclusion that it’s time for a new challenge.”
Thomas said in the Facebook post that he would take a month to “recharge + reset.”
He’s planning to begin a new role at a television station in a different state, he told The News & Observer over the phone on Tuesday, June 17. While he declined to share the name of the station, Thomas said the role will allow him to anchor and report.
At this point in his career, it’s important to “take things up a notch,” he said.
On Wednesday, June 18, Aaron Thomas shared on Instagram that he would begin a new role as weekend evening anchor/reporter at WLWT News 5 in Cincinnati on July 21.
Who is Aaron Thomas?
Thomas, who joined WRAL in 2019, graduated from N.C. State University in 2014 with a degree in communication media, according to his WRAL bio.
“I’m honored to have served my hometown and community as a journalist,” Thomas said in an email to The N&O. “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.”
He was born in Fayetteville and raised in Fuquay-Varina, the bio says.
During his six years at WRAL, Thomas won two Nashville/MidSouth Emmy Awards in breaking/spot news - multiple reports and team coverage categories.
Before coming to WRAL, Thomas worked for two years as a reporter/multimedia journalism at ABC affiliate WRIC-TV in Richmond, Virginia.
From 2015-17, he was a reporter/multimedia journalist at CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV in State College, Pennsylvania.
Reporters, anchors leave WRAL
Thomas is the latest broadcast journalist to leave WRAL in recent months.
Gilbert Baez, a longtime Fayetteville reporter for the station, left WRAL in January, after the station did not renew his contract. Baez is hosting a new TV show, “Air Angels: Flight Helene.” He is also hosting a three-hour weekday news program at WFNC, The N&O previously reported.
Debra Morgan joined WRAL as an anchor in 1993. Until 2023, she co-anchored newscasts at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., alongside Gerald Owens. But in May of that year, she began co-anchoring only at the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. hours, a change she said would offer better work-life balance.
Morgan’s last day on the anchor desk at WRAL was May 21.
This story was originally published June 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
