Tavis Smiley Plays the Race Card

[fred flintstone]

Washington Post:

"The Tavis Smiley Show" lasted only three years. In 2004, NPR let Smiley go after a dispute over marketing. Smiley wanted the network to advertise his program widely; NPR contended it simply didn't have the resources to do that.Smiley says race, however, was at the core of the breakup.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042800439.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/television

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Major NPR news station WBUR Boston is currently airing his weekly show Saturday evenings.

 

[jegrant]

I think part of the question is, when will public radio become deeply committed to serving a new audience, beyond the one they have now?Until that happens, it won't matter how many shows there are or aren't.I occasionally record Mr. Smiley's show from XMPR on Friday night.

 

[fred flintstone]

Major NPR news station WBUR Boston is currently airing his weekly show Saturday evenings.

Tavis Smiley's current program is distributed by PRI. He and his program no longer have any connection with NPR.

 

[Ai4i]

I think part of the question is, when will public radio become deeply committed to serving a new audience, beyond the one they have now?

New audience?

 

[jegrant]

One example of the new audience that public radio may be going after is WBEZ Chicago's plans to draw a younger, more diverse audience to WBEQ & WBEW, as explained in another thread here.

 

[Johnny Morgan]

Of course it must be race. Can't have anything to do with the fact that Smiley's program is bad, and that he's a student of the "yelling" style of radio talk.In other words: It's not him, it's us.