Washington's longest-serving local news anchor Jim Vance of NBC's WRC-TV has died after a battle with cancer, the station said Saturday (July 22). He was 75.
He joined the station in 1969, covering the inauguration of 12 Presidents and seven mayors, including the controversial Marion Barry, who called Vance the night he was arrested.
Vance fought a public battle with drugs and depression, sharing the experience to try and help others.
He announced his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
Vance was a teacher in Philadelphia before getting into the news business. He started as a reporter with the station before moving into the evening news anchor chair.
"As one of the first African-American primetime anchors in a major television market, Vance was an impeccable deliverer of news, keeping the citizens of Washington informed for 45 years," said National Association of Black Journalists in a statement. "He inspired multiple generations of African-Americans to pursue journalism as their craft. His beautiful spirit touched everyone he met and lives on in the scores of working journalists he mentored."
Katie Couric Tweeted of the news:
I'm so sad to lose a friend and mentor: Jim Vance, Washington’s longest-serving local news anchor, is dead at 75 https://t.co/lDQnGoWlzj
— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) July 22, 2017
