No, it really is. The hemmorage has been going for years. It was in waves. The worst of which (most losses, from memory) was between 2008-2010, 2015-2017, 2020-2022 (given, Covid), and since 2024. The Chicago dial (especially AM) has been successfully reduced to NOTHING.

Politics, sports, foreign language (actually useful), religion, and gospel (no comment) to chose from. It's really bad when one gospel station (irony) went dark (just last year).

Simultaneously, the internet exploded. Technology really took off. Recently, land value too (a huge thing for almost a decade). So, it was multiple things (at once) that has caused the decline of REGULAR AM/FM radio.

Amazingly, there are still stations/markets that are smaller, and still surviving. All isn't lost, but corporate America (and technology) wiped out the big cities/markets. I wish I was still in NW OH. DX all the time. Amazing what I could get, around the clock.

For years (but now, more than ever)...cherish what you have. Record as much as you can. Tomorrow, it may be gone.