WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham Marks 40th Year At Station

PITTSBURGH, PA - When Jim Cunningham started at WQED-FM, Jimmy Carter was president, Sony released the first Walkman and 63 Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. The year was 1979.

Flash forward four decades. Cunningham is marking his 40th anniversary as the voice of classical music on WQED. He's the station's artistic director and host of the QED Morning Show, as well as the voice of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for WQED's weekly broadcast Pittsburgh Symphony Radio - heard on more than 100 stations across the country.

“It’s impossible to imagine WQED-FM without Jim Cunningham,” station president and CEO
Deborah. Acklin said. “He has been the steady voice that has shaped the station for decades, and he is a friend that listeners love and trust.”

Cunningham interned with WQED in 1974 while he was still in college. He returned to work at the station part-time after graduating from Thiel College with degrees in English and business administration. He was hired full-time in July 1979.

For 15 years, Cunningham served as the station manager of WQED-FM. As manager, he led the team that established WQEJ Johnstown; began the 24-hour classical music broadcasts; expanded live broadcasts in annual series; and initiated new programs and numerous holiday specials.

Cunningham’s work has been recognized with awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Air Award from March of Dimes, the Gabriel Award from US Catholic Broadcasters, the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh's Millie Award, the Board of Directors of Chatham
Baroque and the Pittsburgh Symphony Paul J. Ross Award for Excellence in
Education and Audience Engagement.

“Starting with Fred Rogers as an intern at WQED, I saw the power of helping viewers and listeners," Cunningham said. " I see them as neighbors who value a local voice and cultural news in our community, rather than just rebroadcasting programs from the network or playing records in the studio or selling things as commercial stations do.

“Across four decades WQED radio and television have been a dream factory for me where creative people help others realize their dreams. WQED-FM is a lift for the spirits and a companion, a lifelong learning experience. To be part of that is the best.”