Voice Radio Network Buys Vineland's Cruisin' 92.1, La Zeta 1270 for $350,000

A $50,000 deposit is already sitting with the law firm Miller and Neely P.C., and an FCC application is pending review, after Edwin Andrade's The Voice Radio Network struck a $350,000 agreement to purchase two Vineland-licensed stations: oldies FM WVLT (Cruisin' 92.1) and Spanish tropical AM WMIZ (La Zeta 1270), along with FM translator W225DK at 92.9, from their longtime owner Clear Communications.

The deal, submitted to the FCC around March 27, brings two of Cumberland County's most recognizable audio fixtures into a rapidly expanding regional broadcast group. Cruisin' 92.1, which has been on the air since October 1968 and operates out of 632 Maurice River Parkway in Vineland, built its identity around familiar on-air personalities. Pepper Paul and Lady Di anchor the station's signature programming and have organized listener cruises on behalf of the station. Lou Costello, a midday host with more than 30 years in Delaware Valley radio and a 2003 inductee into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, anchors the afternoon with his "Doo-Wop Diner" program. Larry Leonelli hosts a long-running local segment called "What's Up?" La Zeta 1270, which broadcasts 24-hour Spanish tropical music and programming and reaches listeners across a regional footprint via both AM and the 92.9 translator, has been a consistent resource for Vineland's Latino community.

For The Voice Radio Network, the acquisition is a logical geographic extension. Andrade's company already owns Spanish Tropical Maxima 104.1, licensed through WOCQ-AM 1510 in Salem with a translator serving Millville, which covers much of the same South Jersey territory as the two new stations. The Voice also operates a six-station cluster in the Salisbury/Ocean City, Maryland market and two AMs with translators in Trenton. The network employs roughly 29 people across its properties.

The overlap between La Zeta's existing Spanish tropical format and The Voice's core programming identity suggests that WMIZ could be folded into a consolidated sales package or simulcast arrangement. Cruisin' 92.1's oldies format is less aligned with the buyer's existing slate, and its future programming direction is among the open questions the deal leaves for Cumberland County listeners and advertisers.

For community organizations, schools, and local advertisers that rely on Cruisin' 92.1 or La Zeta for public service announcements, event sponsorships, and emergency alerts, the ownership transfer is a practical prompt: existing relationships with Clear Communications will need to be reestablished under the new management structure once the FCC approves the sale and the remaining purchase balance is paid at closing.

Carl Hemple, who has served as WVLT's general manager and CEO under Clear Communications, has not commented publicly on the transition. The fate of the station's on-air staff, including personalities like Costello and Pepper Paul and Lady Di, remains unaddressed in the public filings. In small-market acquisitions, on-air consolidation and format shifts typically follow closing, which cannot occur until the FCC completes its review of the application.