Around 3:30 p.m. Monday, Bill Shanks, the widely-recognized host of WIFN’s “Bill Shanks Show,” was told that he, the program director and a radio technician had been fired, and that their show was no longer to be aired in the Middle Georgia area.

“I was told that our positions had been eliminated, and that the show was over,” Shanks said by phone Monday night. “I even asked if we were doing a show (Monday), and they told me, ‘No, there won’t be one.’ ”

Shanks said he and the show’s program director, Russ Brown, learned of the cancelation around the same time. According to Shanks, Macon operations manager for Cumulus Media, Inc., Bobby Reed, informed both men of the decision that had been made by the company’s corporate office in Atlanta.

Reed could not be reached by phone for this story.

As is the case in most industries these days, it appears Shanks’ show was a casualty of the country’s continually deteriorating economy.

“This sounds like it was a part of corporate cutbacks,” Shanks said.

Back in November, Shanks said, some four or five people were let go from the company.

“Now this is a part of round No. 2,” he said.

Bringing a sports talk show to Macon’s airwaves less than two years ago, Shanks said he was beginning to see positive support from the local community. Debuting a high school television program this past fall, the stock in his sports programs were soaring even higher.

“This was the most fun I had in my career, and both Russ and I were talking earlier about how excited we were in what the show has done in the last 22 months or so,” Shanks said. “In fact, just last week alone, we had one of our most-received shows when we were talking about a Texas high school basketball team that beat another team 100-0. We fielded 30 phone calls that day from listeners. The active participation from listeners was enormous on our show.

“It’s really disappointing that they would want to let go of all of that.”

Shanks said he hadn’t had much time to think about what his next step will be, but he’s hoping that someone in the area may assist him in keeping sports talk radio in Macon. In the meantime, he’ll likely be seeking to continue his career in other state markets, he said.

“I want the show to live on,” Shanks said. “I think there is definitely a market for sports talk radio in Macon. I’m hopeful someone else in the area will be interested in picking it up. But if not, I’d be foolish not to look for work in other markets like Athens or Atlanta.”

In the meantime, it appears the radio station will be operating off a 24-hour national ESPN feed, Shanks said.

According to Shanks’ Web page on Scout.com, he has been talking about sports on the radio since 1986, when he was a teenager in his hometown of Waycross.

A 1992 Georgia graduate, he has provided coverage of the Atlanta Braves for several Southeastern radio stations during his career. In 2004, he wrote his first book, Scouts Honor: The Bravest way to Building a Winning Team, in which he investigated the methods members of the Braves’ front office took toward establishing one of Major League Baseball’s most dominant franchises.