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WINC (AM)

WINC
Broadcast area
Frequency1400 AM kHz[3]
Branding"NewsTalk AM1400"
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatNews/Talk/Sports[4]
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Todd Bartley[6][7]
  • (Colonial Radio Group of Williamsport, LLC[3][5])
WINC-FM[8]
History
First air date
June 26, 1941 (1941-06-26)[9]
Former call signs
  • WINC (1941–2021)
  • WZFC (2021–2023)[10]
Call sign meaning
"Winchester"[11][12]
Technical information[13]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID41809
ClassC[5]
Power1,000 watts (unlimited)[5]
Transmitter coordinates
39°11′17.38″N 78°9′6.00″W / 39.1881611°N 78.1516667°W / 39.1881611; -78.1516667[5]
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitetalkwinchester.com

WINC (1400 AM) is a commercial broadcast radio station licensed to Winchester, Virginia, United States. The station carries a news, talk, and sports format. Owned by Colonial Radio Group of Williamsport, LLC, WINC serves the Northern Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. The station's studios are located in Winchester while the transmitter (shared with WXVA) resides south of the city in nearby Kernstown.[14] In addition to a standard analog transmission, WINC is available online.

Originally known for 80 years under the WINC call sign, the station was launched by Richard Field Lewis, Jr. on June 26, 1941, as Winchester's first radio station. The station remained in the hands of the Lewis family until its sale to North Carolina–based Centennial Broadcasting in 2007.[15] The station's current format, established in 1996, consists mostly of conservative talk programs and top-of-the-hour news from Fox News Radio. Sports programming from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech are also broadcast. Prior formats include middle of the road music, adult contemporary, and classic hits.

Several milestones have occurred during the station's 80 years of history. WINC was the station on which country music singer Patsy Cline made her debut in 1948, when Cline asked the leader of a "hillbilly band" for a chance to perform with them on air.[16] In the late 1950s, the station's chief engineer, Philip Whitney, designed a CONELRAD alarm device for FM stations to warn listeners in the event of an enemy attack during the Cold War. Whitney also created many of the remote control systems used by radio stations. He was awarded for his work by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1970. WINC had difficulty renewing its license in the early 1970s, as it was airing 22 minutes of commercials per hour—in excess of what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permitted. The station encountered further trouble in 1988 when a local prosecutor called one of its promotions an "illegal cash lottery"; a judge disagreed.[17] In that same year, the news department at WINC received an Associated Press Broadcasters Association national award for "Best Radio Spot News".[18]

The late 2010s and early 2020s were marked by change spurred by the gradual divestment of Centennial's Winchester stations. WINC began simulcasting full-time over 104.9 FM (then WZFC) on January 31, 2018,[19] but this ended in mid-November 2020[20] when Centennial sold the first WINC-FM, in operation since 1946, to Educational Media Foundation.[21] Following a subsequent sale of a second WINC-FM at 105.5 FM and WZFC to Metro Radio,[22] WINC assumed the WZFC call letters on June 30, 2021, with Colonial Radio Group taking over operations via a local marketing agreement on July 1,[6][10] and consummating the acquisition of the station on October 22, 2021. Colonial Radio owner Todd Bartley later became part of a local group that has since purchased WINC-FM.[23] The station flipped back to its historical WINC call sign on February 25, 2023.

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  13. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WINC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
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  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference WINC2022WZFC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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