Is Nationally Sydicated Talk Show Host Being Asked to Step Down Because of Age, Gender, Race or All Three?

“Never afraid to tackle issues, she has lived with the homeless, walked the streets investigating prostitutes, raised money for babies with AIDS, talked with inmates on death row, and learned to shoot a gun with the FBI. Over the years, Bev has received nearly 300 awards, citations and trophies for her contributions in radio and television. Among them the 1990 Radio Air Crystal Award for her live radio town meeting, Children Killing Children Over Drugs. Mayors from Pittsburgh, PA; Jacksonville, NC; Cincinnati and Columbus, OH have declared special Bev Smith Days. Bev Smith was selected by Talker’s Magazine in 2005 and 2006 as one of the Talkers 250, Featuring the Heavy Hundred, and is recognized nationally as one of the most important radio talk show hosts in America.”

Smith says the reason given to her by AURN Management is that she could no longer attract a younger audience. Smith says after 13 years of being on the air at AURN, and numerous awards including 6 consecutive years of being named one of the top 50 Radio Talk Show Hosts in the country, by Talkers Magazine, that she was shocked and disappointed.

The main concerned that in a media industry dominated by white and black males that her disappearance will signal the end of a strong female voice, unafraid to stand up, get involved and more importantly make an impact. The lack of female voices on the air particularly women of color, highlighting issues that impact the black community and our community-at-large is a growing concern for women of any color.

The ramifications of such a move on the part of AURN brings to question the issues of women’s rights, senior citizens’ rights as well as minority rights. Is the network being bullied by the City of Pittsburgh, who has been over the last decade trying to dispel its reputation as an abandoned town by it’s natives and by business and industry striving for more diverse opportunities? A city who in 2009 lost it’s only urban radio station WAMO. A city that seems to have successfully begun revitalization in the last few years by bringing in casinos as well as film and television. Could it be that Smith’s refusal to bow down to pressure by the Jewish community regarding her Town Hall meeting earlier this year in which she invited Minister Louis Farrakhan began a downward spiral in her career success in that city? It was argued by the Jewish leaders in that city that the town hall meeting themed “The Disappearing Black Community,” and the issues effecting blacks discussed in that meeting should have been approved by the Jewish community first.

Is pressure being put on the network by advertisers, threatening to impact the network’s bottom line? Vizage Magazine plans on contacting the network’s president for proof of their decision. If you look at Smith’s Faceboook page and the outpour of mostly young supporters, it tells a different tale. Has the network also asked the Rev. Al Sharpton to step down? How is it that Sharpton who also hosts a show on the same network and who is roughly the same age as Smith, is somehow more effective at attracting a “young audience with roughly the same format?” This among a community of people whom rely very heavily on their “elder females” for wisdom and advise. It doesn’t really make sense. Is this a gender issue? Could it be because he is a man? Could he be perceived as “non threatening” to advertisers? What data is the network basing it’s information on? What does the Neilson data show? Has AURN launched any marketing campaigns to capture a younger audience for any of their shows? Where is the demographic information supporting their decision?

Jerry Lopes, president of program operations and affiliations at AURN, told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette 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.” According to numbers supplied to the newspaper 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. ”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.” Which again her social media sites paint an entirely different picture.

From the outside looking in it appears that there may be a failure on the part of the network’s executives to realize that if the current advertisers weren’t attracted to her demographic audience, then maybe the advertisers needed to be changed. How about changing the marketing strategy? I don’t remember ever hearing advertising for AARP, Depends, Geritol, Viagra on any of Bev Smith’s shows. In fact, it’s not clear who their advertisers are because they fail to list any of them on their site. But then again is that really the reason?

Robin Beckham, founder of PittsburghUrbanMedia.com after WAMO was sold, told the Post Gazette she didn’t buy Lopes’ explanation.

“She is the queen of late night talk,” said Ms. Beckham, noting that thousands of Ms. Smith’s friends on her Facebook page are talking about fundraising and protests on her behalf. “Here’s an African-American woman whose voice is wiser than most on the air now. She’s committed to something other than fluffing out her hair. If she goes, whose voice is left to be heard? Look around the airwaves, and what do you have? Rush Limbaugh. You can package it anyway you want, but this is age and gender discrimination.”

Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a leading radio trade magazine referred to Smith as “an institution in broadcasting. She’s very highly regarded by the entire broadcasting community.” He also added, ”I don’t think they’re throwing her overboard because she’s a woman. It’s a very challenging economic environment right now, and all broadcasting, not just urban talk radio, is facing the same challenge to keep listeners and advertisers.”

One thing is clear, In spite of all of this Smith told Vizage Magazine, that she has grown the network’s market with her show, and continues to be contacted by stations that currently carry her show as well as a large number of new stations that are expressing an interest in adding her relevant voice their programming.