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New England radio iconoclast Bob Bittner passes

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From the New England Broadcasting History Facebook group:
"I just heard the news that Bob Bittner passed away this morning. I have no more details than that (the news came from his wife Raisa). When I know more, I'll post it, but this is truly sad news. I knew Bob for many years, as I am sure many of you did too."
 
Very sad. I met Bob once decades ago when he was PD of WHOA, the English language station in San Juan, PR. He attended the license renewal community issues/needs/problems meetings I organized for all the stations in the San Juan metro area.
 
I said this elsewhere, Bob Bittner's work just kept fueling my passion for radio more than it already was. I first heard WJIB when I was maybe 11 years old. I was fascinated with it. His work speaks for itself. He will be missed.
 
KilowattKat said:

How one man unites old folks, babies, and hipsters through the power of easy listening

The last auteur of terrestrial radio
thephoenix.com thephoenix.com

I have from around '92 ''93 a booklet Bob had published and was mailing out free of charge, about the story of the original WJIB, his version of it, the Boston radio dial at the time, and information about his Easy Listening format. It's somewhere in my storage, will definitely dig that out when I get a chance.
Click to expand...
If you can scan it, I'd like to include it at www.worldradiohistory.com in my collection of station booklets at RADIO STATION ALBUMS - Promotional booklets - 20's to the 70's
 
I'm turning 40 in November and have known the now late Bob Bittner since I was 14 and his passing on Friday morning brought up two uniquely Bob Stories that came about in our friendship that I had to share.

Back in 9th grade, I started calling around to any radio stations that would answer their phone and asked for swag they could spare to send to me in Connecticut. Somehow, someway I landed on calling WJIB and I spoke to Bob at some point, wether live on the first call or he returned my voicemail.

I of course got some stickers but we connected via email and once a quarter for 4 years, Bob would send me a massive box of the previous quarters Radio World Magazine for me to read since he knew how much I love radio.

We also had a joke amongst ourselves, telling me to "go play in the middle of the road". It was said with love and humor, I think because I lived on a quiet road in Colchester, CT and didn't have alot to do over the summer Over the ensuing 26 years, he'd tell me "to go platy in the road"

So, back in May 2021, 8 months after getting to McGrath Alaska I remembered his "go play in the road" comments to me, set my phone up on a chair and paint bucket, turned on the timer... and took a picture of me playing in the road and posted it on Bob's facebook page, finally having proof I do what he told me to.

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Bob’s stations are always such a joy to listen to. The music is iconic. The nuggets of knowledge sprinkled in make it that much better. New England is better for having had him in our presence all these years. May the Memories Stations last for years to come.
 
I remember sometime in the mid to late 90s Mr. Bittner was hosting a show on WJIB on occasional Sundays called "Let's Talk About Radio." I remember contacting him about the show, telling him how I wanted to work in radio and also host a show similar to "Let's Talk About Radio" on a Connecticut station and discuss Connecticut radio news. He wrote me a nice postcard back that I wish I still had. - I also wish I could have met him, but I never had the occasion to be in Cambridge, Mass.

One story about WJIB, I picked them up on my Mom's car stereo all the way down in Bristol, Connecticut in the late 1990s. On that day AM 740 Radio Disney from Huntington, Long Island was off the air. Anyway I had wished Mr. Bittner could've bought that 740 AM also - especially with the crap 740-AM Huntington is running in 2023 - The Brother Stair Ministries 24/7.
 
I listened to Bob in the early 80's on WNTN AM in Newton, MA. His show "A Different Kind of Oldies" truly was different. He didn't play all of the usual suspects. It was the only station playing drummer Sandy Nelson. I grew up less then a mile away from the studio and transmitter, so you couldn't help but listen as it always played in the background on our landline telephone. Then in the mid-80's I found him on WXKS AM 1430 where he was program manager and DJ. They had an excellent 2-3 year run with DJs like Alan Dary and George Fennell playing their own choices of Big Band, Crooners and the like. They even played Jazz/R&B man Louis Jordan. I lost track of Bob for a couple of years until he surfaced with WJIB 740 AM. I have long since moved out of the Boston area, but always tune in 740 AM or 101.3 FM when I'm in town. I'll miss you Bob.
 
The New England Broadcasting History Facebook page has reported the death of longtime WJIB-740 owner Bob Bittner.

Bob, a native of New Jersey, first came to the Boston area in 1979 as midday personality on WBOS-92.9 (then a disco station). He then went on to several other stations in the area (most notably as PD and announcer at Newton's WNTN-1550 when it programmed an oldies format), then moved into station ownership in 1991 when he purchased what was then WLVG-740, changing call letters to WWEA, and the format to a blend of contemporary music.

In 1993, he changed the call letters to WJIB, and the format to beautiful music (the station has since evolved to a format of adult standards with some oldies mixed in). In recent years, Bittner purchased several other radio stations in New England, two of which (WJTO-730 in Bath, Maine and WBAS-1240 on Cape Cod) simulcast WJIB (currently, all three stations are programmed out of WJTO in Bath, Maine, where Bittner lived the final years of his life).

It's too early to tell what's going to happen to these stations. Bittner's widow Raisa will have to decide whether she will keep the stations, or sell them.

Hopefully, regardless of their fate, WJIB, WJTO, and WBAS will continue programming their unique formats.

BTW, I'm not 100% sure, but I think Bob was 74; hence, the title line of this thread.
 
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