Jim Vance

Jim Vance (born January 11, 1942 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania) is an American television news anchor in Washington, D.C.

Early life and career

Vance grew up in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Cheyney University, a historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Vance taught English for three years in a Philadelphia junior high before making the leap to television.

Career

Vance currently anchors the 6 p.m. edition of News4 on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. He retired from anchoring the 11 p.m. edition of the news in May 2015. He has worked for WRC-TV since 1969, and in 1972, he became the station's main co-anchor, as one of the first African Americans to serve in this position at any American television station. Between 1972 and 1976, he worked as co-anchor with Glenn Rinker at WRC-TV-4. Between 1976 and 1980, Vance co-anchored with Sue Simmons, a pairing that resulted in one of the first, if not the first, African-American co-anchors of a major market newscast. Since 1989, he has been part of currently the longest-running anchor team in Washington, alongside co-anchor and health reporter Doreen Gentzler. He is famous on the Internet for appearing in a video with the late sports anchor George Michael where they laughed at a model who fell twice on a runway.