He's back: WCPT and WVON to air Smiley’s radio show

Tavis Smiley

Robservations on the media beat:

• Tavis Smiley is returning to Chicago radio in a big way. Not one but two local stations are picking up the weekly radio show he hosts with Cornel West for Public Radio International. Smiley & West will air at 3pm Sundays on Newsweb Radio progressive talk WCPT-AM (820), starting this weekend. It also will air at 11am Saturdays on Midway Broadcasting urban news/talk WVON-AM (1690), starting November 10. Until late last month, the show had been on Chicago Public Media WBEZ-FM (91.5). It was dropped after station bosses cited concerns about fairness and balance. Smiley later blasted the decision as “demeaning, derogatory and dead wrong.” In a related move, WCPT also is adding Smiley’s other PRI program, The Tavis Smiley Show, at 2pm Sundays. Leading up to the premiere, WCPT will air a Smiley & West Uncensored marathon from 10pm Saturday to 7am Sunday.

• They’re shouting from the rooftops at Univision Radio this week after regional Mexican WOJO-FM (105.1) became the first Spanish-language station in the market to rank No. 1 among adults between 25 and 54 in Arbitron’s Portable People Meter survey. With a 4.9 percent audience share for the period from September 13 to October 10, La Que Buena beat Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9) and Clear Channel urban adult-contemporary WVAZ-FM (102.7), which tied with a 4.6 share.

• Bragging rights also accrued Tuesday to Sun-Times Media, which posted gains in the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations report for the six months ending September 30. Total average Monday-Friday circulation was up more than 11 percent year-to-year for both the Sun-Times and its regional newspaper group. “I am very proud of the stories and other content we’re producing across all of our publications,” editor-in-chief Jim Kirk said in a statement. “From major exclusives, such as the Jesse Jackson Jr. health situation, to our in-depth, street-level coverage of NATO, we are giving our readers the great local journalism that they have come to expect from the Chicago Sun-Times.”

• My favorite part of Rick Kogan’s Sunday Tribune profile of Jim Belushi was where the comedian told how he writes his occasional column for the Splash page of the Sun-Times: “They tell me I can write whatever I want to write, and I’ll just start dictating to my secretary. I realize I do have a lot of things to talk about.” But I missed the part where Kogan explained to Belushi that dictating to a secretary is not the same as actually writing a column.

• Janet Davies marks the 14th anniversary of her 190 North magazine show this weekend with a special edition pegged to the number 14. She’ll explore Chicago’s 14th Ward while Doug Banks hops on the No. 14 Jeffrey bus, Mark Nilsson checks out the city’s 14th Street, and Eva Saha visits the 14th congressional district. They’ll also hang out with Chicago athletes who’ve worn the number 14, including Mr. Cub Ernie Banks, Eric Weems of the Bears and Tim Miller of the Wolves. 190 North airs at 11pm Sundays on ABC 7.

• Chicago media and advertising veterans Jeff Chardell and Doug Ekman are teaming up to head a new automotive advertising division of Noble Advertising, with offices in Chicago and Springfield, Missouri. A man of many voices, Ekman is best known for his long-running Max Madsen commercials.