WRAL-TV’s Rick Gall receives honors from his alma mater: (l to r) Dean John Pauly, Dean of the J. William & Mary Diederich College of Communication; Sharon Tiedge, wife of the late James Tiedge – the namesake of the award Gall received; WRAL-TV News Director Rick Gall; & Fr. Robert Wild, President of Marquette University. |
WRAL-TV News Director Rick Gall has been awarded an Emmy for his excellent work over time and recently his alma mater added another plaque to his trophy case. Marquette University honored Gall with the James T. Tiedge Memorial Award at a ceremony in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Saturday, April 28, 2007.
Each spring, Marquette spends a weekend honoring graduates from all of its various schools through its Alumni National Awards celebration. The awards honor alums who “represent the heart, soul and spirit” of Marquette, showing appreciation to distinguished graduates for the ways they reflect positively on the University.
The James T. Tiedge Memorial Award honors an alumnus from the College of Communication “whose professional life reflects what Dr. Tiedge taught and lived, including the social responsibility of media professionals.”
Gall graduated from Marquette with honors. He then earned a master’s degree from The American University in Washington, DC, after which he began his career in television news. Eight years later he came to WRAL-TV where he has spent the past 11 years.
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“Each day in the television news business is a new day, and it can be exhilarating and challenging. Most importantly, it provides an opportunity to serve the community by finding, covering and delivering news that impacts people’s lives.”
– WRAL-TV News Director Rick Gall
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“After several promotions, Rick is now an Emmy-award-winning news director at WRAL, responsible for running the news department and disseminating news content across numerous platforms,” read the award citation written by Marquette Alumni Communication Specialist Michelle Pilak. “He supervises more than 110 people and is in charge of a multi-million dollar budget. A known technology and news leader, the award-winning WRAL has been doing newscasts in HD since 2001 and dominates the local news ratings.”
Originally from Wisconsin, Gall now lives in Raleigh with his wife of 14 years, Pam. He is active in the community as well as the newsroom. He chairs the pastoral council at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church, is an active member of the Knights of Columbus and is Vice President of the Radio Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas.
“While a Marquette student, Rick spent hours in Dr. Tiedge’s office discussing ethics—conversations that foreshadowed his commitment to excellence in all things, a hallmark of his career,” continued Williams & Pilak.
“I believe achieving success requires a positive attitude, strong work ethic, effective communication, resourcefulness, initiative, competence, dependability and good judgment,” said Gall. ““Marquette provided a great educational foundation for these qualities. And it allowed me to build many friendships that continue to this day.”
Thanks to Marquette’s Erin Burke for this capcom photo.
