Bev Smith Says She's Being Forced Off the Radio

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World

Legendary radio icon Bev Smith is keeping it honest with regard to the announcement that she is leaving American Urban Radio Networks.  As part of a series of "expense reducing" mechanisms, Smith is being asked leave the position she has held since 1998. This is a blow to black female voices in America, which are already missing from nearly every style of media.

Smith has been listed as one of the 50 "top talkers" in all of radio.  When she leaves on October 28, she will also be off the air in 30 other markets, including New York, Chicago and other major cities.

Initially, rumors of poor health were given as the reasons for Bev deciding to leave, but she made it clear that this was not the case. She told her version of the truth to the Pittsburgh-Gazette. 



"I see it as about being a certain age and gender," she said. "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."

Jerry Lopes, President of Program Operations at AURN, said that the decision had to be made in order to save money.  He also blames a weak economy for the move.   In addition to cutting the Bev Smith show, the company also terminated Tene Croom, the news director. 
Lopes was just as honest as Smith when it came to explaining his reasons for cutting the show.  He said that 88 percent of Smith's New York audience was over the age of 55 and 53 percent were over the age of 65.   In Chicago, over 86 percent of her audience was over the age of 65 as well.
"Her audience numbers were, frankly, skewing a lot older than that, which made the show less attractive to advertisers. We were forced to make some changes, and her show, unfortunately, was one of the casualties," he said. 


I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bev Smith.  I've worked with her on multiple occasions, including a summit on the state of the black male that was held in Pittsburgh earlier this year.  Bev's work is absolutely awesome, and she is surely a queen among queens when it comes to her contributions to media.  Finally, she tends to focus on the issues that need to be discussed in our community, rather than the silly, intellectually-deficient content that is force-fed to African Americans around the nation.

I've also met Jerry Lopes, a man that I admittedly don't know very well.  I can say that I find Lopes' reasons for cutting Bev's show to be credible, since profitability tends to be the bottom line for nearly any corporate entity.  While Smith's allegations of age, race and gender discrimination are certainly valid, these biases typically exist because it's hard to find profitability with a show that appeals primarily to senior citizens.

Given that seniors are certainly a relevant audience in America, one can hope that Bev will find a new home for her talents.  It should be noted that Lopes is correct in his assessment that Bev's style of commentary doesn't attract the kind of demographic necessary to thrive economically in struggling black radio.  I've personally felt that during my appearances on the show, there was a great deal of nostalgic reflection on "how great things used to be way back then," and not much of an effort to appreciate the value that young people can bring to the table (unless those young people happen to agree with old people).

But with these issues being put to the side, Bev is entirely correct that there is a dearth of black female talent on the radio - Wendy Williams (who also left radio) comes to mind and I loved appearing with Wendy as much as Bev, for both women are truly amazing.   Bev brings issues to the table that almost no one else will explore.  Given the degree of pride and power that Bev carries on the air, I wonder just how feasible it might have been to partner Bev with a younger, male co-host in order to balance out the demographic.  The only challenge for Lopes, however, would be that Bev's presence can sometimes fill a room, for Bev is a person who always seems fully aware that she is as important as she is (yes, I say this with a loving smile).

At the end of the day, Bev will survive and continue to excel.  I am equally hopeful that AURN will  thrive as well.  The media industry is tough, and African Americans continue to struggle to maintain our own outlets.  This is a sad ending to a great career, and it's unfortunate that the Bev Smith's of the world are not appreciated as they should be.  Given that intelligent, progressive dialogue is not always the most financially profitable use of our time, perhaps we should remain mindful of keeping a double bottom line.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.  To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.