[1] He attended the Cambridge School of Broadcasting and Brooklyn College and worked at radio stations in West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana[2] before moving to Pittsburgh in 1969 to take up a position at WJAS as the sports anchor and morning news director.
[2] The show, dubbed "John Cigna and the K-Team" consisted of Dave James, Fred Honsberger and sportscaster Nellie King.
Cigna also became noted for performing two stunts in the KDKA news promo, where he jumped onto the hood of a moving station vehicle, and having a door slammed into his face (accidentally) by then-News Director Honsberger.
Though KDKA was long-established as the top-rated station in Pittsburgh, ratings remained fairly steady after Cigna's move to mornings.
Cigna's health began to decline since suffering injuries in a motorcycle crash two years prior.