WINK News is still operating as a local TV news outlet in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area, but it has gone through some notable changes and staff shake‑ups over the past few years.

Quick Scoop: What Actually Happened?

  • WINK News (WINK‑TV) remains an active CBS affiliate serving Southwest Florida.
  • The station has seen on‑air talent changes , including meteorologists and anchors leaving or being let go, which is why many viewers feel like “something happened” to WINK News.
  • A major long‑term storyline was the impact of Hurricane Ian in 2022, which flooded WINK’s downtown Fort Myers studios and temporarily knocked them off the air.
  • More recently, the Fox 4 (WFTX) Cape Coral building closed, and that operation is now being run out of WINK’s Gateway facility, tightening the local TV landscape and bringing more operations under the WINK News umbrella.

A Bit More Background

1. Talent departures and “anchor/meteorologist drama”

Viewers asking “what happened to WINK News?” are often reacting to familiar faces disappearing from the newscasts.

  • Meteorologist Nikki Sheaks announced in January 2026 that she was leaving WINK News to become a meteorologist at WPBF 25 News in Palm Beach, an ABC station owned by Hearst.
  • Her last show at WINK was scheduled for January 25, 2026, and she described the move as “coming home” to South Florida, where she’s originally from.
  • Separate online coverage and forum‑style writeups discuss at least one WINK News anchor being fired, framing it as a controversial departure and speculating on internal reasons and impact, which fueled social media buzz about “what’s going on” at the station.

These staffing changes can make it feel like the station is in constant flux, even though the organization itself is still in place.

2. Hurricane Ian and the “are they okay?” phase

Another reason people Google “what happened to WINK News” is the station’s highly publicized struggle during Hurricane Ian.

  • On September 28, 2022, storm surge from Billy Creek flooded WINK’s Palm Beach Boulevard studios in Fort Myers, taking WINK‑TV and sister properties off the air.
  • Two days later, WINK got back on the air from a makeshift studio at its transmitter site, temporarily using WXCW’s main channel to carry WINK‑TV’s schedule.
  • After about a week, operations returned to the main facility once repairs allowed.

That incident created a lasting impression that WINK had been “wiped out,” so even years later people still search to see if the station ever recovered—which it did.

3. Fox 4’s building closing and move into WINK

In 2026, another shift in the local TV landscape added to the “what’s happening?” feeling.

  • A former Fox 4 personality publicly noted that the Fox 4 building in Cape Coral has officially closed its doors.
  • According to that post, the Fox 4 operation is now being run as part of WINK News in Gateway, meaning those operations are consolidated into WINK’s facility.

For viewers: you may now see overlapping resources, shared facilities, or changes in how Fox 4 and WINK News present content, which can make it seem like WINK is “taking over” or absorbing other local news operations.

4. Is WINK News still a trusted source?

  • WINK News continues to market itself as a trusted, breaking‑news‑focused local newsroom, emphasizing real‑time coverage, deeper context, and on‑the‑ground reporting in Southwest Florida.
  • The station is part of a locally based ownership structure (Fort Myers Broadcasting/Sun Broadcasting), which is somewhat unusual in today’s media landscape and often cited as part of its identity.

Public perception, of course, is mixed: some viewers appreciate the hyper‑local focus and long‑time presence, while others are more critical of recent personnel changes or editorial choices, which shows up in forum discussions and comment threads.

5. Forum and social media chatter

If you’re seeing this as a trending or forum topic, a few patterns are driving it:

  • Posts in local Facebook groups and community forums frequently mention WINK as the station people “call” when there’s a local scam, controversy, or consumer issue, which keeps its name circulating.
  • Articles and blog‑style pieces with titles like “Wink News Anchor Fired: What Happened?” explicitly frame staff changes as mini‑dramas, amplifying the sense that the station is in turmoil even though it’s still operating.
  • Add in hurricane resilience stories and the Fox 4 move, and you get a narrative arc that feels bigger than a typical local station’s evolution.

TL;DR: WINK News hasn’t disappeared—it’s still active as the Fort Myers CBS affiliate—but it has been through visible transitions: hurricane damage to its studios, anchors and meteorologists leaving or being fired, and the consolidation of Fox 4’s operation into WINK’s facility, all of which fuel the recurring question: “what happened to WINK News?”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.