LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- WHAS11 News has learned that one of the best-known voices on local talk radio has lost his job after nearly twenty years.  Joe Elliott will not return to the airwaves at night on WHAS Radio. His last show was Wednesday night.

Thursday night at his Louisville home, Elliott told WHAS11 that he and several others were laid off today by Clear Channel Radio, the owners of WHAS Radio.

Elliott, who is blind, has hosted the nine to midnight local talk show for 14 years. He succeeded the legendary Milton Metz who started that show 50 years ago.

Elliott had only praise for his bosses. His time slot will be replaced Friday by syndicated programming; a trend he feared would some day impact him.

Joe Elliott said this in an interview with WHAS11's Doug Proffitt: "Radio has changed so much. Dramatic, bone-chilling change the last ten years. I think I had an inkling that this might happen," says Elliot. "Some people want to pitch for the New York Yankees, others grow up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky and want to play in the NCAA for the Kentucky Wildcats. My dream when I was a little guy was to be on the radio. You can't do any better than be on WHAS."

He’s currently working on a severance package with Clear Channel.

Elliott also says they've offered him part-time work to continue as host of the Sunday morning talk show, which he's still mulling over.

Late Thursday night, Milton Metz told WHAS11 he was sad, saying the show he created served a purpose for people who wanted to express their opinions in a neutral field, on the air.

On Friday, Clear Channel's Kelly Carls told WHAS11 News, “These are very disturbing times in the media business, whether it’s radio, television or newspapers. The economic waters are choppy and sometimes that makes us have to make difficult decisions. Joe is a great talk show host and a great person... nothing but integrity. I am happy to update from the story last night that [we have] spoken to Joe and he will continue hosting his Sunday talk show for the foreseeable future... and he will be on the air this Sunday.”