WINC (AM)

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WINC
City of license Winchester, Virginia
Broadcast area Winchester, Virginia
Frederick County, Virginia
Clarke County, Virginia
Branding "NewsTalk 1400 WINC"
Slogan "First in Winchester, First in News"
Frequency 1400 AM kHz
First air date June 26, 1941[1]
Format News/Talk/Sports[2]
Power 1,000 Watts day and night
Class C
Facility ID 41809
Transmitter coordinates 39°11′17.0″N 78°9′7.0″W / 39.188056°N 78.151944°W / 39.188056; -78.151944
Callsign meaning WINChester[3]
Affiliations Cumulus Media Networks
Fox News Radio
Premiere Networks
Salem Radio Network
Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Westwood One
Owner Centennial Broadcasting[4]
(Centennial Licensing II, LLC)
Sister stations WINC-FM, WXBN, WZFC
Website WINC Online

WINC is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Winchester, Virginia, serving Winchester along with Frederick and Clarke counties in Virginia. WINC is owned and operated by Centennial Broadcasting.

Launched on July 26, 1941, WINC was Winchester's first radio station. From 1941 until 2007, WINC was owned by the Lewis family of Winchester. The station's studios remain in the building from when the station was operated when it was launched. WINC participated in numerous statewide broadcasts during World War II and was where Country music legend Patsy Cline made her debut. The station's chief engineer, Philip Whitney, designed the CONELRAD alarm device and created many of the remote control systems used by radio stations.

A contest early in the station's history caused the telephone circuits for Winchester to short out. WINC ran into trouble in the early 1970s, while attempting to renew their license, for airing 22 minutes of commercial per hour, in excess of what the FCC permitted.

History

Pre-broadcast

The first logo for WINC, from July 26, 1941.

Richard Field Lewis, Jr. founded sister station WFVA in 1939.[5] Prior to that, he worked at KFXM in San Bernardino, California as chief engineer.[5] Lewis filed the initial application for a new station, to be known as WINC, with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the week of November 10, 1940.[6] Lewis applied to have WINC broadcast on AM 1370 at 250 Watts of power.[6] Lewis's application was approved on February 4, 1941.[5]

The station was assigned the WINC callsign in early March, 1941, which represent the first four letters in Winchester.[3][7] By June 1941, WINC announced it would join the NBC Blue Network the following month.[8] On June 26, 1941, WINC took to the airwaves for the first time on AM 1400, not the originally-planned AM 1370, becoming Winchester's first radio station.[1][6] At launch the station broadcast at 250 watts day and night.[1][9]

Two weeks later, on July 13, Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd and Governor James Hubert Price attended the formal dedication of the station.[1] The first announcer on WINC was Grant Pollock, who was originally hired to be the station's commercial sales manager.[1][10]

Throughout its existence, WINC's studios have been located at 520 North Pleasant Valley Road in Winchester.[11][12] The station's address at launch was 520 Kerr Street, which was later incorporated into Pleasant Valley Road.[11]

History since launch

World War II

With the United States deep into World War II, WINC participated in an hour-long special program called "Virginia Schools at War Mobilization" on February 22, 1943.[13] The program included approximately 618,000 school children and teachers from around the state, war-savings staffs and state and civic dignitaries.[13] The special, broadcast live from Mount Vernon, was carried on 13 other Virginia stations and on WWDC in Washington, D.C.[13]

WINC participated in another wartime broadcast, this one in late January, 1944, to encourage the public to buy War Bonds.[14] A total of $150,525 in bonds were sold during the two-hour program, broadcast on 13 stations in Virginia and 1 in Washington, D.C.[14]

WINC staff members Everett Howard and John Carl Morgan both served in the military during World War II.[15][16] Howard served in the Army, Morgan in the Navy as a Chief Warrant Officer.[15][16] Morgan rejoined the station after the war as an engineer and announcer.[16]

On June 15, 1945, the NBC Blue Network formally changed its name to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).[17] WINC remained an affiliate of the renamed network.[18]

Post World War II

The station's logo in 1965.

The station began carrying Standard Oil's "Your Esso Weather Reporter" spots on April 22, 1946.[19] The Esso programs included the "latest weather prediction and [a] brief commercial".[20] WINC began carrying programming from the Keystone Broadcasting System (KBS) and Lang–Worth Feature Programs in 1946 and 1948 respectively.[21][22] Both Keystone and Lang-Worth were electrical transcription networks.[23][24] Programming from Lang-Worth was removed from the station's schedule in 1951, while Keystone programming remained until 1960.[25][26]

A January 1947 contest on WINC was responsible for shorting out the entire telephone system for the city of Winchester.[27] Mark Sheeler, a disc jockey at WINC, gave a "wolf whistle" as the signal for Winchester area "housewives" to call the studio.[27] The first one to reach him would win "a free pair of nylon hose and a $10 handbag".[27] The first call received, though, was from the telephone company telling Sheeler that his contest was tying up the city's phone lines.[27] The station received around 4,000 simultaneous phone calls.[27] Sheeler quickly made an on-air announcement calling off the contest.[27]

On August 8, 1947, WINC applied to move from 1400 to 950 AM.[28][29] In the same application, the station requested an increase in the station's power to 1,000 watts during the day and 500 watts at night.[29] More than two years later, the application was dismissed and WINC remained at its original frequency and power.[30]

The year 1948 saw 14-year-old Virginia "Ginny" Hensley, birth name of Country music legend Patsy Cline, make her broadcast debut on WINC, beginning her career.[31][32][33] Hensley asked "Joltin'" Jim McCoy, the leader of a "hillbilly band" called "The Melody Playboys", about to perform on the station, for a chance to sing with them.[31][33] She told the band leader, "If you just give me a chance to sing with you, I'll never ask for pay."[31]

WINC joined the NBC Radio Network on November 1, 1951, after more than 10 years as an ABC affiliate.[18] WINC rejoined ABC Radio, carrying both networks's programming, on January 18, 1952.[34] WINC dropped NBC programming in 1953.[35] WINC became one of the flagship members of the Washington Senators Baseball Network, established in May 1952.[36]

In late 1957, WINC owner Richard F. Lewis, Jr. passed away.[37] Control of WINC was turned over to widow Marion Park Lewis.[37] Ownership of the station was transferred again on January 31, 1964, from Richard F. Lewis Jr. Inc., a company owned by Marion Park Lewis, to Mid-Atlantic Network Inc., a corporation wholly owned by the Lewis Family.[38]

The station applied for and received a construction permit on August 9, 1958, to increase its broadcasting power from 250 to 1,000 watts, both day and night.[39] The application was finally approved in January 1961, but only for a daytime power increase.[40]

In 1959, WINC engineer Philip Whitney designed a CONELRAD alarm device for FM stations.[41] The CONELRAD system allowed for early nationwide warnings in the event of the threat of enemy attack during the Cold War.[42] Whitney is also credited with creating many of the remote control systems used by radio stations, including creating the microwave remote control system.[43] The National Association of Broadcasters presented Whitney with its annual Engineering Award on April 7, 1970 for his work.[43]

Paul Harvey broadcast his "News and Comment" program from WINC studios on April 14, 1962.[44] Harvey was in town for a speaking engagement.[44]

1970 and beyond

Logo used from the Mid 1980s to March 2009.

While attempting to renew the station's license in early 1971, Mid-Atlantic Network, Inc. ran into trouble with the FCC due to the quantity of commercials the station was airing.[45] The station was carrying 22 minutes of commercials an hour according to a letter from then-FCC Broadcast Bureau Chief Francis R. Welsh.[45] Welsh said in the letter that the FCC was not convinced the amount of commercials served the community in a positive way.[45] At the time, the FCC allowed no more than 18 minutes of commercials per hour.[45] The station's license was, however, renewed on May 14, 1971.[46]

Part of WINC's programming in 1977 included daily political commentaries from former California governor Ronald Reagan.[47] WINC remained an ABC Radio affiliate in 1978, carrying their "American Contemporary Network" with a Middle of the Road format.[48][49][50] WINC added Adult Contemporary music to its format in 1980.[51] WINC dropped the Middle of the Road music in 1982, airing only Adult Contemporary music.[52] In 1985, WINC dropped ABC Radio's "American Contemporary Network" in favor of their "American Entertainment Network", while continuing to air an Adult Contemporary format.[53]

The station increased its nighttime power to 1,000 watts in 1986, allowing the station to broadcast at the same wattage around-the-clock.[54] The news department at WINC received an Associated Press Broadcasters Association national award for "Best Radio Spot News" in 1988.[55] By 1991, WINC was airing a Classic Hits format,[56] which is dropped a year later, returning to Adult Contemporary.[57] Talk programs were added two years later in 1994[58] and all music dropped two years after that.[59] Also in 1996, WINC became an affiliate of AP Radio.[59] The station picked up CBS and CNN affiliations in 2000, dropping the AP.[60]

Sale

On May 17, 2007, Mid-Atlantic Network, Inc. announced it was selling WINC, as well as stations WINC-FM, WWRT and WWRE in Winchester and WBQB and WFVA in Fredericksburg to North Carolina-based Centennial Broadcasting for $36 million.[61] Later reports had the price of the sale at $35.972 million.[62] Centennial CEO Allen B. Shaw, commenting in a Winchester Star interview on the sale, said he had been considering buying the stations for several months. He did not foresee any changes to the stations.[61] The sale was closed in August 2007.[61]

Programming

WINC's weekday schedule starts with Jim Bohannon's "America in the Morning" newshour followed Bill Bennett's "Morning in America". Conversative talk show hosts Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin are then broadcast each weekday, followed by the The Jim Bohannon Show and Coast to Coast AM.[63] WINC carries five-minute newscasts every hour from Fox News Radio.[64]

The station is an affiliate of the Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network, which carries Virginia Tech football and basketball.[65][66] WINC also airs back-to-back Sunday NFL games during the regular season.[66]

Weekend programming on WINC includes The Pet Show hosted by Warren Eckstein, The Monica Crowley Show, The Kim Komando Show, and home-improvement shows "In the Garden with Andre Viette" and "On the House with the Cary Brothers".[67] "The Score", a statewide Conversative talk program, hosted by WRVA's Scott Lee, is also heard.[68] "Best Of" editions of previously-recorded weekday programming are also aired.[67]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. July 21, 1941. p. 31. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  2. ↑ "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Call Letter Origins: The List". Bob Nelson/Barry Mishkind. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  4. ↑ "WINC Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. February 10, 1941. p. 29. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. November 15, 1940. p. 46. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  7. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. March 10, 1941. p. 47. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  8. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. June 16, 1941. p. 52. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  9. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. July 28, 1941. p. 60. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Grant Pollock, first announcer of radio station WINC". Handley Regional Library/Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. c. 1950. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "520 N. Pleasant Valley Road". Handley Regional Library/Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. c. 1941. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Contact Us - NewsTalk 1400 WINC". WINC/Centennial Broadcasting. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. February 22, 1943. p. 16. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. January 31, 1944. p. 20. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. September 24, 1945. p. 54. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. November 12, 1945. p. 72. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Radio: No More Blue". Time Magazine (Time Inc.). June 25, 1945. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. November 19, 1951. p. 26. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  19. ↑ Radio Daily. Radio Daily Corporation. April 19, 1946. p. 7. Retrieved December 7, 2013. 
  20. ↑ Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. April 15, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  21. ↑ 1946 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1946. p. 182. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  22. ↑ 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1948. p. 250. Retrieved December 7, 2013. 
  23. ↑ Cox, Jim (2009). American Radio Networks: A History. McFarland & Company. pp. 194–195. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  24. ↑ 1949 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1949. p. 420. Retrieved December 7, 2013. 
  25. ↑ 1951 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1951. p. 317. Retrieved December 7, 2013. 
  26. ↑ 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1960. p. B-20. Retrieved December 7, 2013. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. January 27, 1947. p. 60. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  28. ↑ Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. August 18, 1947. p. 70. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. August 18, 1947. p. 72. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  30. ↑ Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. September 26, 1949. p. 54. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Jones, Margaret (May 7, 1999). Patsy: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline. Da Capo Press. p. 21. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  32. ↑ Kelly, Laura (May 2, 2013). "8 destinations for country music fans". Fox News Channel. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Ellison, Curtis W. (1995). Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven. University Press of Mississippi. p. 93. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  34. ↑ Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. January 21, 1952. p. 30. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  35. ↑ 1953 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1953. p. 307. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  36. ↑ Broadcasting/Telecasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. May 19, 1952. p. 42. Retrieved December 1, 2013. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. November 18, 1957. p. 130. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  38. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. February 10, 1964. p. 88. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  39. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. August 25, 1958. p. 100. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  40. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. January 16, 1961. p. 88. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  41. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. August 10, 1959. p. 58. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  42. ↑ Pollak, Michael (September 23, 1999). "Eerie, Creepy Look at Cold War Culture". The New York Times (New York, New York). Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. December 22, 1969. p. 42. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Radio-Television Daily. Radio Daily Corporation. April 2, 1962. p. 10. Retrieved December 7, 2013. 
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. April 26, 1971. p. 54. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  46. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. May 31, 1971. p. 64. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  47. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. September 12, 1971. p. 75. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  48. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. February 13, 1978. p. 84. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  49. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. February 13, 1978. p. 88. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  50. ↑ Sterling, Christopher H. (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio 3-Volume Set. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 92. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  51. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1980. p. C-241. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  52. ↑ Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook 1982. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1982. p. C-253. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  53. ↑ Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook 1985. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1985. p. B-286. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  54. ↑ Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook 1986. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1986. p. B-301. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  55. ↑ Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. September 18, 1989. p. 86. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  56. ↑ The Broadcasting Yearbook 1991. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1991. p. B-350. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  57. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Market Place 1992. Reed Reference Publishing Company. 1992. p. A-370. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  58. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994. Reed Reference Publishing Company. 1994. p. B-393. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1996. Reed Reference Publishing Company. 1996. p. B-446. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  60. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000. Reed Reference Publishing Company. 2000. p. B-476. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 Mangino, Stephanie M. (May 17, 2007). "SOLD! $26M for WINC's corporate parent". Winchester Star (Winchester, Virginia). pp. A1, A8. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  62. ↑ Carnegie, Jim (May 31, 2007). "RBR's Daily Morning Epaper - Transactions". Radio Business Report (Lake Ridge, Virginia). Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  63. ↑ "On-Air - NewsTalk 1400 WINC". WINC/Centennial Broadcasting. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  64. ↑ "Station Finder - Virginia". Fox News Channel/Premiere Networks. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  65. ↑ "hokiesports.com - IMG Television & Radio". Virginia Tech/IMG College. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 "Sports - NewsTalk 1400 WINC". WINC/Centennial Broadcasting. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 "Weekends - NewsTalk 1400 WINC". WINC/Centennial Broadcasting. Retrieved December 3, 2013. 
  68. ↑ "The Score - Bearing Drift". Bearing Drift. Retrieved January 5, 2014. 

External links


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See also
List of radio stations in Virginia
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Stations:
¹ = WKDL operates as a full-time simulcast of WTNT.
See also
adult contemporary
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