Bev Smith, the Only Nationally Syndicated Black Female Radio Show Host, Says She's Being Forced Off the Airwaves

Legendary nationally black syndicated talk show host Bev Smith says she's being forced off the air and not leaving due to health concerns.

SHAME: Legendary black radio show host Bev Smith said she's being forced off the air waves. Now this is a woman who has paid her dues, with a career spanning decades, in which she interviewed presidents, comedians, educators and many more. She was won more than 300 awards and has been repeatedly named as one of the 50 "top talkers" in the country, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. So, why is the only nationally syndicated black female talk show host being kicked to the curb as of October 28?

Contrary to rumors of ill health, Ms. Smith says she isn't leaving of her own accord. Rather, she was told several weeks ago that "The Bev Smith Show" would no longer be offered to radio stations by American Urban Radio Networks, a Pittsburgh-based media company that produces news, entertainment, sports and information programming for urban radio audiences.

Officials at AURN say simple economics are behind the decision to pull the plug, but Ms. Smith says it's not that simple.

"I see it as about being a certain age and gender," she said in an interview Friday. "If you've ever listened to me, you'll know I'm not afraid to tackle the truth. Is this something about black women's voices? Because there are no other black women nationally doing what I'm doing."

That may be true, but Jerry Lopes, president of program operations and affiliations at AURN, said that the decision to stop distribution of "The Bev Smith Show" was one of "several expense reductions made in response to declining ad revenues and a sputtering economy."

Besides discontinuing the production of Ms. Smith's show, which she started in 1998 in Maryland before moving back in 2001 to her hometown of Pittsburgh, AURN also terminated the company's longtime director of news, Tene Croom, he said, noting that he'd hired both Ms. Smith and Ms. Croom, "so this decision has been especially painful for me."

According to numbers supplied by Mr. Lopes, 88 percent of Ms. Smith's audience on New York's WWRL-AM is over 55, and 53 percent is over 65. At WVON-AM in Chicago, 86 percent of her audience is over 65 and at WAOK-AM in Atlanta, 62 percent are over 65. About a year ago, he added, he approached Ms. Smith, noting that her audience numbers were beyond the show's target audience of listeners between age 25 and 54. Source

Well, Al Sharpton and Warren Ballentine better watch their backs. They could be next on the chopping block, since they appeal to a narrow demographic. We have no doubt Bev Smith will land on her feet and chart a new and equally successful course in whatever endeavor she chooses.