Midlands Media Group, LLC, led by Columbia residents Kirk Litton and Keith Stover, bought radio station WZMJ 93.1 from Lake Murray Communications. The Lexington-based station is known as Z-93 The Lake.

Midlands Media Group purchased WWNQ 94.3 The Dude, in 2016. It is the only locally owned and operated country music station in the greater Columbia market. Midlands Media Group also owns ColaDaily, the area’s free, digital, local newspaper. The purchase of Z-93 by MMG was reported in ColaDaily.com Friday.

Litton is executive managing partner of Midlands Media.

“We’re proud to be locally owned and operated,” he said. “And we’re committed to providing our listeners, readers and advertisers with a stronger hometown connection than ever before.”

Stover, also managing partner of Midlands Media, said: “It’s a dream come true to be able to grow Midlands Media Group here in my home town. It’s a testament to our team that has worked so hard over the past two years to make this growth possible. We’re eager to partner with the local community in new and exciting ways with two FM stations.”

Litton has more than 20 years of radio sales and management experience.  He was named Sales Executive of the Year in 2006 for CBS Radio DC, and for Radio One DC in 2008-09. In 2012 he moved to Columbia to become a minority owner and president of Hometown Columbia, which purchased stations WWNQ and WWNU. He served on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Broadcasters Association from 2012-2015, and is a graduate of the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Leadership Training program, Class of 2012. He also serves as VP/Sales for MARC Radio of Florida. Litton has a B.A. from the University of Maryland. He and his wife of 16 years, Katie, have three children.

Stover has more than 25 years of programming and operations management experience under the professional name of Keith Clark. He was born and raised in Blythewood, and began his career at WQXL in Columbia. He attended the University of South Carolina and has been voted one of the top 50 radio programmers in America by Radio Ink. He served for 17 years as vice president of programming and operations for the CBS Radio group in Pittsburgh. He also serves as VP/Programing for MARC Radio of Florida, consults stations for Vallie-Richards-Donovan Consulting, and produces RedCup Country, a syndicated radio show that airs on more than 40 stations in the U.S. and Canada. Stover and his wife, Marie, have three children.

Marie Stover, a radio marketing professional, serves as Midlands Media’s vice president of marketing and client services. She has spent most of her tenure at CBS Radio Pittsburgh specializing in live event production and sponsorship.

With headquarters in the downtown Vista district of Columbia, Midlands Media Group, LLC owns and operates WWNQ 94.3 The Dude (www.943thedude.com) covering the Columbia metropolitan area, its companion on-line newspaper Cola Daily (www.coladaily.com), FIZZ Radio, an on-line adult alternative radio station (SodaCityFizz.com) and the e-commerce site ColaDailyDeals (www.coladailydeals.com). The company is focused on helping to build a stronger local community by providing entertainment and news in compelling formats.