Two local guys in Columbia, SC, both with more than 20 years of radio industry experience, have partnered to purchase country radio station WWNQ 94.3 The Dude. Kirk Litton and Keith Stover of Midlands Media Group and have purchased WWNQ. The format will remain Country.
Litton, who is a former minority owner of the station and will serve as executive managing partner of Midlands Media, said: “We’re proud to be locally owned and operated, and we’re committed to providing our listeners, readers and advertisers with a stronger hometown connection than ever before.” Stover, who began his radio career in his hometown of Columbia and will also serve as a managing partner of Midlands Media, said: “It’s a dream come true for two local guys who have worked in broadcast radio their entire careers. We’re eager to partner with the local community in new and exciting ways.”
Litton has more than 20 years of radio sales and management experience. He spent the first 18 years of his career at CBS Radio and Radio One in the Washington, D.C. market, where he was responsible for sales and was eventually promoted to regional sales director. 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. H
Stover has more than 20 years of programming and operations management experience. He was born and raised in the Columbia suburb of 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, where he was responsible for WDSY.
