Hundreds of comments flooded the station's Web site from across the United States, including messages from loyal viewers accustomed to seeing Pressly on TV to those who said they'd never heard of her before the attack.
"Although I didn't know her or ever see her on the news I was very touched when I read the first article about her brutal beating. I do hope the person who did this is caught and punished to the full extent," a Connecticut woman wrote.
Frequent viewers of the ABC affiliate's "Daybreak" program recounted how Pressly had affected their lives.
"We never met Anne in person, but she was indeed part of our family as we invited her into our lives and into our living room everyday," wrote a couple from Quitman, Ark. "She stole our hearts with her beautiful smile and bubbly personality."
A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and teddy bears lay near a tree outside the anchorwoman's home Sunday.
KATV has established a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Pressly's killer. The station said the fund had reached $30,000 as of Saturday evening.
Police have said they had no indication Pressly was targeted for the attack. Little Rock police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassandra Davis didn't return phone messages Sunday from The Associated Press.
KATV opened its nightly news cast Saturday with a seven-minute segment devoted to Pressly. Anchor Pamela Smith, at times with a catch in her voice, told viewers that Pressly's family agreed to have their daughter be an organ donor.
KATV general manager Dale Nicholson, in a tribute video, recalled a conversation with Pressly in which he discussed the effect she had on people.
"I said, 'Anne, you have a gift, a gift like a lot of people don't have. You just bring happiness into people's lives,"' Nicholson said.
Smith agreed Pressly had magnetism.
"She owned every room she was in, not because she demanded our attention, but because we willingly gave it to her," Smith said.
"We all felt a little better, a little more alive just being near her."
Pressly was born in South Carolina and moved with her family to Little Rock while she was in high school. She attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.
She had a small role as a conservative commentator in the new Oliver Stone movie "W.," which was filmed in Louisiana.
