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Jim Pitcock, the former news director for KATV and a longtime media figure in Arkansas, passed away on October 9 at the age of 83.

According to a story posted on KATV's website, Pitcock began his career in broadcasting at KFSA-TV in Fort Smith in 1957 and transferred to the ABC affiliate, KATV, in Little Rock in 1964.

Len Pitcock described his father as "a pioneer in Arkansas television news." He added that his father started his broadcasting career in Fort Smith "while in high school." After working his way up to news director at KATV, he would hold that position for more than 30 years, his son said. After his television career, Pitcock worked nearly 10 years on Mark Pryor's staff while Pryor served as Arkansas attorney general and in the U.S. Senate.

Messages were posted on social media Sunday after word spread of Pitcock's death. Larry Foley, a documentary filmmaker and professor at the University of Arkansas, referred to Pitcock on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, as "Arkansas' Edward R. Murrow."

Skip Rutherford, a former dean at the University of Arkansas' Clinton School of Public Service, also posted on X, calling Pitcock "a giant in the Arkansas media world." He added that the film collection, now archived in the Pryor Center at the University of Arkansas, is one of Pitcock's "many legacies."

The X account for KATV News stated that the "visionary journalist" saved years of Arkansas history by preserving "priceless news footage" for future generations through the archive system he started.

From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obituary.

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