WHOW (1520 kHz, "The Big 1520")[2] is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Clinton, Illinois, United States.

[4][5] Weekday syndicated talk programming includes Michael Medved, Jim Bohannon, Larry Elder and Red Eye Radio overnights.

On weekends, WHOW carries CBS Sports Radio programming, along with a Saturday morning farm show, local Clinton High School football and basketball games, and afternoon blocks of classic country music.

[8] On April 19, 1972, the station's studios were moved from the downtown square to an office building at its tower site, four miles (6 km) south of Clinton, built to resemble a "big red barn".

[15] In June 2002, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Cornbelt Broadcasting for its failure to maintain an operational Emergency Alert System decoder, post an antenna structure registration number, and enclose its AM antenna structure within effective locked fences or other enclosures.

[14][18] Within days, the station's office hours sign had the normal "8 a.m.-6 p.m." crossed out and "Permanently closed forever" written in its place.

[21] The stations were being prepared for a sale, then in the negotiation stage, to a group led by real estate developer and Illinois state senator Bill Brady.

[22] After more than five decades of ownership by the Livesay family, Cornbelt Broadcasting Company (James R. Livesay II, president) reached an agreement in late November 2003 to transfer the broadcast license for this station to WHOW Radio, LLC (led by Bill Brady) along with FM sister station WHOW-FM for a reported combined sale price of $300,000.

[29][30][31] WHOW was able to return to the air at reduced power a few days later using a long wire antenna while the FM station resumed broadcasting from a makeshift 60-foot (18 m) tower on December 8.

[5][28] The station received special temporary authority from the FCC in January 2007 to operate in this manner until a new, permanent tower could be constructed.

[36][37] Hartford would go on to write "Gentle on My Mind", a song made famous by Glen Campbell, and record more than 30 albums of newgrass and traditional bluegrass music.