Beloved KISS 98.5 morning host says goodbye Friday after decades connecting with listeners across Western New York.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Janet Snyder has been part of Buffalo’s morning routine for decades. Whether you listened in cars during school drop-offs, kitchens before work and headphones during early commutes.
The longtime WKSE-FM “KISS 98.5” personality on Friday will sign off for the final time, ending a remarkable 32-year run in Buffalo radio.
One day before her final broadcast, WGRZ-TV reporter Claudine Ewing and photojournalist Penny Adams spent time inside the Audacy studio during “Janet & Nick in the Morning,” capturing the final moments of a broadcasting era that helped define pop radio in Western New York.
“It’s bittersweet,” Tim Wenger, Senior VP/Market Manager Audacy Buffalo/Rochester, said during Thursday’s show. “Listening this morning, it’s been so much fun.”
Snyder announced in March that she would retire from radio, closing the chapter on a career that made her one of Buffalo’s most recognizable media personalities — and believed to be the first female lead host of a morning radio show in Buffalo broadcasting history.
A Williamsville East graduate and Ithaca College alumna, Snyder joined KISS 98.5 as morning host in July 1994. She was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2023.
For Snyder, the milestone is difficult to fully process.
“Amazing,” she told Ewing when asked how it feels. “Thirty-two years as Janet, Nick, and Wease on KISS 98.5.”
When she first started in radio, Snyder said her goals were much smaller.
“I had just had my daughter Kristen and my son Willie would have been 2,” she said. “I thought if I could just stay employed until I could get them into kindergarten. And so we got them to kindergarten — and then some.”
Over the years, Snyder, Nicholas Picholas and producer “Wease” became one of Buffalo radio’s most enduring teams, building a connection with generations of listeners.
“We’ve probably been part of somebody growing up, somebody having kids, somebody becoming maybe a grandmother,” Snyder said. “There’s all these different stages of life that I feel like we’ve shared with people.”
That connection extended beyond celebrity interviews and music news.
While Snyder interviewed stars including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and Dua Lipa, she said some of the most meaningful moments came during conversations with listeners facing hardship.
“When people share their story to help others, that’s as powerful and meaningful as anything,” she said. “Radio is very intimate. We’re in the car with them, in the kitchen, in the shower.”
Her final show Friday is expected to be emotional — and celebratory.
“So tomorrow will be the last last show,” co-host Nicholas Picholas said on-air Thursday. “Today’s been fun. Tomorrow — epic.”
As for what comes next, Snyder says she’s looking forward to slowing down after years of 4 a.m. alarms.
“I’m going to go on an adult gap year,” she joked.
More importantly, she says she wants time — something she realized cannot be replaced.
“All the money you can make, the one thing you can’t buy is time,” Snyder said. “I think I want that time.”
She also hopes to spend more time with family and simply be more present.
“I’m going to be present,” she said. “When you’re working full time and you’ve got a lot going on, it can pull you away from family and friends. I just look forward to being as present as I possibly can.”
Before officially signing off, Snyder still has a few Buffalo moments left — including throwing out the first pitch at an upcoming Buffalo Bisons game.
And like many Western New Yorkers, she still has one wish for the city she has called home throughout her broadcasting career.
“A Super Bowl,” she laughed. “That’s all we want.”
As she prepares for her final morning behind the microphone, Snyder says the gratitude she feels toward Buffalo is overwhelming.
“Thank you for listening. Thank you for making me part of your family,” she said. “Most importantly, fight for the city, take care of each other and be kind.”