WINQ (AM)

For the station in Tampa, Florida, that held the WINQ calls in the 1960s and 1970s, see WJBR (AM).
WINQ
Simulcasting WINQ-FM Winchester, New Hampshire
Frequency1490 kHz
BrandingWINK Country
Programming
FormatCountry
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Saga Communications
  • (Saga Communications of New England, LLC)
WKVT-FM, WRSY
History
First air date
November 29, 1959; 64 years ago (1959-11-29) (as WKVT)[1]
Former call signs
WKVT (1959–2018)
Call sign meaning
"wink"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID57781
ClassC
Power1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
42°50′51″N 72°34′56″W / 42.84750°N 72.58222°W / 42.84750; -72.58222
Translator(s)106.9 W295CO (Brattleboro)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Website987wink.com

WINQ (1490 kHz; "WINK Country") is an AM radio station licensed to serve Brattleboro, Vermont. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC; it operates as part of its Monadnock Broadcasting Group. WINQ simulcasts the country music programming of Keene, New Hampshire, sister station WINQ-FM.

The station had previously been assigned the WKVT call letters by the Federal Communications Commission.[3]

Last logo as WKVT

WKVT was part of a network of progressive talk stations throughout the northeastern United States that are owned by Saga Communications (others including WNYY in Ithaca, New York, WHMP in Northampton, Massachusetts, WHNP in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and WHMQ in Greenfield, Massachusetts); these, in turn, were among the last progressive talk stations still on the air in early 2017. Because of the migration of most progressive talk shows to off-air platforms, Saga announced plans to begin dropping the format in February 2017; WNYY was the first to change,[4] followed by WHNP,[5] with most of the other stations in the network likely to follow.[6]

On May 30, 2018, WKVT dropped its syndicated programming, including Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann, and began to carry the country music programming of Keene-based WINQ; WKVT's local morning drive time program, Green Mountain Mornings, was retained following the format change.[7] The station changed its call sign to WINQ on June 19, 2018. Green Mountain Mornings, which was hosted by Olga Peters, was cancelled in December 2018.[8]

  1. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-456. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WINQ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Nick (January 11, 2017). "A Progressive Talk Station Goes Off Air. No, It's Not A Conspiracy". Ithaca Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  5. ^ Lazer 99.3 adds second signal
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (January 16, 2017). Prog Talk Fades Away. NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Walters, John (June 6, 2018). "Gubernatorial Moneyball: Will Outside Money Flood Vermont Again?". Seven Days. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Local media outlets collaborate over growing concern". Brattleboro Reformer. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.