On-air personality Cris Winter announced Tuesday on her “Cris Winter In The Morning” Facebook page that after working close to 40 years in Pittsburgh radio, her days on the air are over — for now.
Winter said she was dismissed Friday after her show on WISH 99.7.
“When you look at covid-19, it’s a situation where everyone is making cuts,” she said. “It is such a bizarre time, and everybody is struggling right now. It’s just an unprecedented time for everyone. We are all just trying to keep our heads above water.”
Winter said she still plans to post about music, concerts, pop culture and defending animals.
She said she hasn’t had a lot of time to think about what’s next, but will certainly entertain another radio job or do something with animals. Anyone who knows her, knows her love and passion for animals.
Animal Friends director of communications Cody Hoellerman said Winter has done so much for the organization of the years as both a volunteer and board member.
“She has served as an emcee for many of our fundraising events and her passion for animals and commitment to the pets of our community is amazing,” Hoellerman said. “Without question, Cris’ dedication to Animal Friends and our mission has changed, and saved, countless lives.”
A resident of Peters Township in Washington County, Winter said she won’t miss getting up at 2:50 a.m. and plans to spend time with her husband and her mother.
Her Facebook post said: “As if 2020 hasn’t been a sucker punch to the face for all of us … huh?” she wrote. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do love adventure and I have to be honest … it’s nice to sleep in until 7 a.m.!”
The comments came rolling in.
Some people were surprised, while others wished her luck.
Her time slot was the 5:30-10 a.m. shift, where she worked for 14 years. She’s also been on the air with WDVE-FM, WWSW-FM (3WS) and WXXP-FM.
Renda Broadcasting, which owns WISH, did not respond to requests for comment.
In 2010, Winter answered questions for the Tribune-Review’s Personality Test. She’s a graduate of Baldwin High School and California University of Pennsylvania. In that test, she said her favorite thing about Pittsburgh is the people and her favorite area landmark is Mt. Washington — which is still true today, she said.
If she were auditioning for “American Idol,” her song would be Queen’s “Love of My Life.” The one instrument she wished she could play is the guitar.
“I admire anyone who can make it look so easy to play,” she said.
Winter said one of the people who inspired her to get into radio was the late television talk show host Mike Douglas. She recently posted about him for what would have been his 95th birthday.
“As a kid, I LOVED ‘The Mike Douglas Show!’ ” she wrote. “He is one the reasons why I chose radio as a career. I thought he was so good at what he did … warm, friendly, funny and the guests were the stars, not him … and he always had an eclectic mix of guests and he would sometimes have a celebrity co-host for a week and Mike did a fabulous job of bringing them out of their shell!”
“I wanted to be like him,” she said. “I loved my job, and I had a passion for it all these years. Every day was different because the listeners who called in were different, and all the people I got to meet were different and all the events I got to emcee were amazing. I met so many people who inspired me and helped me put things in perspective.
“This pandemic has shown me what’s most important in life.”
