WUSQ-FM
Encyclopedia
WUSQ-FM is a Country
formatted broadcast
radio station
licensed to Winchester, Virginia
, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley
. WUSQ is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications
.
In the early 1970s, WEFG played an automated "hit parade" format of then current pop tunes as well as a heavy mix of oldies.
Gospel found its way to 102.5 in 1976. First only in the evenings, with John Scott Slonaker, then to other dayparts including mornings where Phil Roby played the music. The rest of the day WEFG was automated. Many local and national preachers broadcast their shows on WEFG.
WEFG broadcast the "gospel" sounds in mono to people in the "four states" thanks to its 21,000 watts on a tower they shared with sister WHPL-AM (now WLVE).
In April 1982, ShenVal sold both WEFG and WHPL-AM to Holt Communications. Also in April of '82, WEFG switched to WUSQ and country hit the airwaves for Winchester with 32,000 was stereo sound, one of the last stations in the area to do so. WUSQ became known as "Shenandoah Country, Q-102".
In 1991, Holt sold WUSQ told Baltimore based Benchmark Communications. In 1993, WUSQ added syndicated "After Midnight" to their lineup.
From 1996 until 2000, WUSQ saw their ownership change from Benchmark to Capstar to AM/FM, finally to Clear Channel. Today, Q102 is consistently the highest rated station in Winchester, battling cross-town WINC-FM for the top spot.
In October 2008, WUSQ and sister station WKSI-FM
became the Winchester areas first stations to broadcasting in HD Radio
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
formatted broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Winchester, Virginia
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
. WUSQ is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
History
ShenVal Communications signed WHPL-FM on the air in 1965. Calls were changed to WEFG-FM in the late 1960s. Its early years the station was big on local sports coverage.In the early 1970s, WEFG played an automated "hit parade" format of then current pop tunes as well as a heavy mix of oldies.
Gospel found its way to 102.5 in 1976. First only in the evenings, with John Scott Slonaker, then to other dayparts including mornings where Phil Roby played the music. The rest of the day WEFG was automated. Many local and national preachers broadcast their shows on WEFG.
WEFG broadcast the "gospel" sounds in mono to people in the "four states" thanks to its 21,000 watts on a tower they shared with sister WHPL-AM (now WLVE).
In April 1982, ShenVal sold both WEFG and WHPL-AM to Holt Communications. Also in April of '82, WEFG switched to WUSQ and country hit the airwaves for Winchester with 32,000 was stereo sound, one of the last stations in the area to do so. WUSQ became known as "Shenandoah Country, Q-102".
In 1991, Holt sold WUSQ told Baltimore based Benchmark Communications. In 1993, WUSQ added syndicated "After Midnight" to their lineup.
From 1996 until 2000, WUSQ saw their ownership change from Benchmark to Capstar to AM/FM, finally to Clear Channel. Today, Q102 is consistently the highest rated station in Winchester, battling cross-town WINC-FM for the top spot.
In October 2008, WUSQ and sister station WKSI-FM
WKSI-FM
WKSI-FM is a Contemporary Hit Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Stephens City, Virginia, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia...
became the Winchester areas first stations to broadcasting in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
.