Since New York City’s 2003 blackout, Ralph Katz of Manhattan has kept two transistor radios and fresh batteries stashed in bedroom and bathroom drawers.

“If that happens again, this may be the only way I’ll get my news,” said Mr. Katz, 75, a retired public relations executive and longtime WCBS Newsradio 880 listener.

“When I get up in the morning, I want to know what going on — what’s breaking, what’s happening, what subway is delayed, where the traffic jams and other problems are — to set up the day.”

But his favorite AM news station will soon be gone.

WCBS said this week that its nearly 60-year run as an all-news station will end this month. The station will become WHSQ and host ESPN New York sports talk.

It is an almost inevitable development as reliance on radio news continues to decline, with the rise of podcasts and smartphones delivering news, weather and traffic information.

Local radio was once a pillar of the New York City news ecosystem. WCBS helped make up the running backdrop of frenetic city life. Residents listened to it in the shower, at the breakfast table, in their cabs. It blended with the clamor of the delis and bodegas. It provided the small informational necessities that enable urban living — traffic and weather every 10 minutes on the 8s — and chronicled the epochal events that shaped New York.