PORTLAND, Maine — In 1989, Cindy Williams arrived at WCSH in Portland to start a new job anchoring the morning news (which then ran only 30 minutes from 6:30 to 7) and co-anchoring the noon news with, as fate would have it, me.
On Friday, when our 6 p.m. newscast fades to black, Cindy will walk off the set for the final time, pack up the last few things on her desk in the newsroom, and head out the door into retirement. Could someone please tell me where those three decades went?
In addition to being a terrific anchor, Cindy is a dear friend to Amanda and me and many of our colleagues, and we’re going to miss her — her laugh, her kindness, her enthusiasm, her keen sense of the weirdness and absurdity that are woven into the DNA of a television newsroom. Cindy won’t be the only one reaching for a tissue to wipe away some tears on her last day. We will, too.
All of this explains why we couldn’t let her slip away without sitting down with us on 207 to talk about her remarkable run.
Fun fact: Cindy and Pat Callaghan have been the most-watched TV anchor team in Maine for 32 straight years. In the fiercely competitive world of local television news, that is astounding.
Enjoy our conversation, and if you’re a fan of Cindy’s, keep a tissue handy when you watch her final newscast on Friday.