Ancil Payne, 83; Pioneer Broadcast Journalist at Seattle’s KING-TV
Ancil Payne, 83, a pioneer of television journalism who was chairman and chief executive of King Broadcasting from 1971 until his retirement in 1987, died Saturday in Seattle.
Payne had no broadcast experience when he was hired by the region’s first television station in 1959, but he helped build the company into a $400-million broadcasting and cable conglomerate.
Former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer and CNN’s Lou Dobbs and Aaron Brown were among those who worked at KING-TV.
Under Payne, KING-TV became the first station in the Pacific Northwest with a bureau in Washington, and in the 1960s, the station was among the first in the region to hire black reporters.
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