R.I.P.: Texas Broadcast Pioneer Joe Jerkins

Joe Jerkins

A former president and general manager of KVUE-TV in Austin, Joe Jerkins, died Tuesday Dec. 3 after a long battle with leukemia.

He was 88.

Jerkins was a pioneer in broadcasting. He began his broadcasting career in 1942 as a radio announcer while he was still in high school. After two years in the U.S. Navy in World War II and earning an electrical engineering degree at the University of Oklahoma, he became a newsman/announcer at KSWO Lawton.

He returned to his hometown in 1947 and worked as a newsman announcer at KOGY and later at KOMA radio, public information director for the Oklahoma Safety Council, promotions, production, program and operations manager at WKY-TV and assistant general manager for KTVY, Inc. in Oklahoma City.

In 1979, Jerkins moved to Austin as vice president and general manager of KVUE-TV. He became KVUE-TV’s president in 1987 and served as president of the Texas Association of Broadcasters in 1991.

He also started the Austin Crime Stoppers program and throughout the years, led the United Way, the Salvation Army advisory board, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, American Youth Works, and the Austin Community Foundation.