WERM
| City | Mobile, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Branding | The original 1480 |
| Frequency | 1480 kHz (AM) |
| First air date | June 19, 1948 |
| Format | Urban Gospel |
| Power | 5,000 watts (day) 4,400 watts (night) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 70656 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°43′11″N 88°04′16″W / 30.71972°N 88.07111°W |
| Callsign meaning | Eternity Records Mobile |
| Former callsigns | WABB (1948–2012) WTKD (2012–2014) |
| Owner | Donald Pugh (Eternity Record Company LLC) |
WERM (1480 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1948, is owned by Donald Pugh, through licensee Eternity Record Company LLC. WERM broadcasts from midtown Mobile's Springhill Avenue, its home since 1969, after leaving its former Government Street studio in downtown Mobile.
The station began broadcasting at 1480 kHz on June 19, 1948, when it was owned by the Mobile Register as WABB ("Alabama's Best Broadcasters") and had a country music format.
Shortly after owner Bernie Dittman moved to Mobile from his native Ohio to join his father J.W. at the station, Top-40 music became the new format.
WABB had an FM simulcast from the very beginning, starting with 107.9 MHz and later 102.1 MHz until it was discontinued in the 1950s. The most recent incarnation of WABB-FM (97.5 FM) signed on for the first time on February 5, 1973, with the song "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" by Bob Dylan. WABB-FM was originally a simulcast of its sister station before moving toward the format of album oriented rock.
When WABB-FM made the move to the contemporary hit radio format in 1984, the AM station continued to play Top-40 music. Eventually, the economics of AM radio in the United States meant a move away from music and the station adopted a talk radio format.
WABB's longtime owner, president, and general manager Bernie Dittman died on October 25, 2006, after suffering from a stroke the previous week. Dittman's daughter Betsey succeeded him after relocating to Mobile from Chicago, Illinois. In its final years as WABB, the station broadcast a talk radio format featuring a line-up of primarily nationally syndicated conservative talk programming along with some locally produced programs. Some of the personalities on the station included national hosts such as Laura Ingraham, Michael Smerconish, Lou Dobbs, and Jerry Doyle. WALA-TV's morning newscast was simulcast weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. WTKD was the radio home of Mobile's minor league baseball team the Mobile BayBears from the 2001 through the 2006 seasons.
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