Meet Pittsburgh’s Broadcast Legends and Storytellers
September 26, 2018
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Pittsburgh Pro Chapter is presenting “Pittsburgh’s Broadcast Legends and Storytellers.” This special event will feature four veteran local broadcast journalists — Sally Wiggin, Harold Hayes, Andy Gastmeyer with co-panelist & moderator Lynn Cullen — who will discuss their careers and share some war stories of their professional experiences. Wiggin plans to retire this November after nearly four decades of anchoring in Pittsburgh.
The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 6 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 548, College Hall at Duquesne University. ( 1100 Locust Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 )Registration is $15, which includes refreshments. The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania is a co-sponsor. Register now using PayPal at westernpapressclub.org/calendar.html, Cash payment is available at door, but registration using the link is encouraged because of refreshments planning. Email RSVP and email questions to spj.pittsburgh@gmail.com .
(Parking option: Enter the Forbes Avenue Garage via Forbes Avenue. Take the elevator to 8th floor, Campus level. College Hall is on the opposite side of Locust Street from that level of the garage.)
More information about the panelists:
Sally Wiggin joined WTAE-TV in 1980 as a reporter and rose to anchor the station’s 11 p.m. news for 16 years and the 6 p.m. news for 22 years. Wiggin is the host of WTAE’s “Chronicle.” She is also the co-host of “Black and Gold Primetime.” Wiggin plans to retire in November 2018 after nearly four decades of broadcasting on WTAE.
Wiggin’s many honors include a George Foster Peabody Award, a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, A National Headliner Award, and the Board of Governors Award for the Mid-Atlantic Emmys. She was inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in East Asian history, and holds a master’s degree in Chinese history from the University of Michigan.
Wiggin serves as a board member of a wide variety of non-profit community organizations in the region.
Harold Hayes, who retired from KDKA-TV in 2016 following a 40-year career in broadcast journalism, is a veteran and respected Pittsburgh television journalist.
Hayes joined KDKA-TV in 1979 as a general assignment reporter. In his nearly 37 years with the station, Hayes covered a wide range of stories from breaking news to court cases, the Jerry Sandusky trial, the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome, and Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia.
In 2016, Hayes was presented with the President’s Award for lifetime achievement by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania.
A McKeesport native, he is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. Hayes began his career in 1976 at WSIV AM & FM in Pekin, Illinois, then moved to WRAU-TV in Peoria, Illinois.
Andy Gastmeyer was a reporter for WPXI-TV for over 24 years. He was a member of the station’s investigative team and regularly covered Pittsburgh city politics. Gastmeyer retired from WPXI-TV in 2008.
Gastmeyer was also a White House correspondent for the Satellite News Channel and Television News, Inc. in Washington, D.C. He was a reporter with KDKA-TV from 1976-1982. Earlier in his career, Gastmeyer worked as a reporter for WAVY-TV in Norfolk, VA.
Gastmeyer was the recipient of four first-place awards from the Pennsylvania Associated Press for his investigative pieces on Met Life Services, the Pirates, and bar beatings. He also received an Ed King Memorial Award for his series on allegations of beatings at local bars. Gastmeyer has been honored with a National POW/ MIA League Humanitarian Award for his coverage of Virginia Beach POW families.
A native of New York, Gastmeyer graduated with a double major in History and English from Old Dominion University. He did post-graduate work at New York University.
Lynn Cullen currently hosts “Lynn Cullen Live,” a one-hour talk show heard weekdays from 10-11 a.m. on Pittsburgh City Paper’s website. She’s been well-known to Pittsburgh’s TV viewers and radio listeners for 37 years.
Cullen was a reporter with WTAE-TV from 1981-92, garnering numerous awards, including a 1991 Emmy, four Golden Quills, and three Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcaster Awards. Cullen hosted talk shows on WTAE Radio from 1987-97 and WPTT Radio from 1999-2008.
She’s also hosted Cullen on Cable, which aired on PCNC-TV. She appeared on WQED-TV as host of “The Pennsylvania Game,” co-host of the “Cullen/Devlin” public affairs show and a panelist on the “4802” discussion show. In 2014, she shared her experiences in a one-woman show, “Lynn Cullen’s Wild Ride,” at the Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret.
Cullen came to Pittsburgh in 1981 from WSIC-TV in Madison, Wisconsin, where she was an anchor and reporter. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, she attended Northwestern University in Illinois and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, before receiving her degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin.
