Bernard Sidney Dittman was the longtime owner, president, and general manager of 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...

s WABB

WABB (AM)

WABB is a radio station broadcasting a news and talk radio format serving the Mobile, Alabama, metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Dittman Broadcasting.-History:...

 and WABB-FM

WABB-FM

WABB-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 format serving the Mobile, Alabama area, with coverage in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It first began broadcasting in 1973...

 in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. Since Dittman assumed ownership in 1959, WABB has been one of the longest running Top-40 radio stations in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Career

Born in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, Dittman's interest in broadcasting became known in the sales and marketing department of his family's appliance store in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. He was involved in the purchasing of advertising time on local radio stations. When Dittman attended St. Louis University, he did not study broadcasting, but engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

. After earning his engineering degree, Dittman's interest in broadcasting kept him away from a career in engineering. His interest finally peaked when he decided to buy a radio station up for sale, with the help of a broker

Broker

A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...

. Dittman found out that the Mobile Register was selling its country music

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...

 station WABB. He seized the opportunity in 1959 and shortly after arriving in Mobile a year later, the station began broadcasting Top-40 music. The format was such a success in the 1960s that WABB added a new FM simulcast

Simulcast

Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...

 in 1973. Dittman and his staff encouraged drivers in a series of on-air promotions to install low-cost FM radio receivers. WABB-FM eventually continued the Top-40 format after the AM station switched to a news/talk format.

Personal life

Dittman's service to his fellow man extended beyond FM radio receivers. Since he came to Mobile, the WABB Community Club Awards Program of Greater of Mobile has provided thousands of dollars in financial awards to local organization. The station's longtime sponsorship of the Greater Gulf State Fair in Mobile began in 1965, along with the long-running High Striker game, a charitable promotion at the entrance to the fair's Midway. For years Dittman was seen operating the game himself. The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (sponsored by WABB since 1970) the Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...

, and the GMAC Bowl

GMAC Bowl

The GoDaddy.com Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. It currently matches teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference, and...

 received financial support from Dittman and WABB through the years. Since WABB was the Emergency Broadcast System

Emergency Broadcast System

The Emergency Broadcast System was an emergency warning system in the United States, used from 1963 to 1997, when it was replaced by the Emergency Alert System.-Purpose:...

 for Mobile, Dittman and his radio staff kept residents informed during severe weather, especially during, and after hurricanes.

Awards and honors

Dittman received numerous awards of recognition for his professional and public service over the years. In 2005, he was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

Death

In October 2006, Dittman had a stroke and was placed in a hospital. On the night of October 25, he died at the age of 79 following an illness that had begun just the week before. In the days following his death, friends and family expressed their feelings and shared memories of the man many came to know as someone who cared deeply for his stations, current staff, and former staff. Betsey Dittman succeeded her father after relocating from Chicago, Illinois to Mobile, fulfilling the promise Bernie Dittman had of never selling out in an age when a single corporation can own multiple stations and radio stations are mostly automated.

External links

• WABB-FM official website