I post this only because so many of us here grew up listening to the Big 89, WLS Chicago at night. It truly was one of the biggest and best 50K blowtorches in North America, and topped the ratings in several states, outlasting nearest rival WCFL. 

But now the station so many admired is instead simply mired in failure and can't seem to get out of its own way. It recently fired a middle-of-the-political road on-air host, who says he now fears owner Cumulus intends for it to become "the most conservative station in America."

Considering some of the stuff that comes on these formats, that's a pretty frightening prediction. According to the departed John Howell, "Nobody broadcasts anymore. Everybody narrowcasts."

The strangest thing about all this is that it isn't working. WLS is so far down on the ratings list, you need a magnifying glass to find it. What a sad comedown for such a once great station. And this isn't likely to help.

Chicago's WLS-AM to double down on conservative format