What is "winc"

WINC (1400 AM) is a broadcast radio station licensed to Winchester, Virginia, United States. The station carries a news, talk, and sports format. WINC serves Winchester along with Frederick and Clarke counties in Virginia.

Launched on June 26, 1941, by Richard Field Lewis, Jr., WINC was Winchester's first radio station. It remained in the hands of the Lewis family until sold to North Carolina-based Centennial Broadcasting in 2007. 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 Virginia Tech is also broadcast. Prior formats heard on WINC include middle of the road music, adult contemporary, and classic hits.

Several milestones have occurred during the station's 75 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. 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. In that same year, the news department at WINC received an Associated Press Broadcasters Association national award for "Best Radio Spot News".

WINC could refer to:

• WINC (AM), a radio station (1400 AM) licensed to Winchester, Virginia, United States
• WINC-FM, a radio station (92.5 FM) licensed to Winchester, Virginia, United States