The Smiley & West show is being picked up by two Chicago radio outlets, after WBEZ dropped the program due to sagging audience numbers. Tavis Smiley and his co-host, author and activist Cornel West, will be heard on Newsweb Radio progressive talk WCPT-AM and Midway Broadcasting urban news/talk WVON-AM, reports Chicago media critic Bob Feder.
Thirteen stations have dropped the show since June 2011, with several taking issue with the co-hosts’ political opinionating or citing complaints from listeners. WBEZ’s cancellation and related comments from Torey Malatia, station president, triggered an angry letter from Smiley that sparked a widely reported controversy in Chicago. The program is distributed by Public Radio International.