WNOV adds Tavis Smiley talk show to lineup
Milwaukee talk radio added a new voice to the airways this week as veteran broadcaster Tavis Smiley's syndicated show began airing on WNOV 860 AM/106.5 FM.
Billed as unapologetically progressive, “Tavis Smiley” features a lineup of newsmakers, authors, activists and entrepreneurs.
“We are excited about this new look that we have,” said Douglas Kelley, vice president of Courier Communications, which owns WNOV. “We’ve added more variety of different talk shows to help educate and empower our community. That is what Tavis is going to do as well.”
“Tavis Smiley” airs 5 to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, as a rebroadcast. The station reshuffled its music programming to accommodate the new program. Smiley takes the time slot of the station’s jazz show, which then follows Smiley.
Smiley’s entry into the Milwaukee market is part of a larger expansion. His show now airs in 11 new markets.
“We will continue to provide our growing listener base with enlightening and empowering programming geared toward African Americans and other citizens of color, and we will cover topics that other radio shows are too timid to discuss,” said Smiley in a statement on his website.
Smiley joining WNOV’s lineup comes as new management took over the 57-year-old station in October. Management wanted to expand on what the station does best. That's talk radio, which comprises 75% of WNOV’s programming.
“We already had Al Sharpton on, and we were looking for another flavor; another individual who could fit within our current state,” Kelley said.
The station already added Kwabena Antoine Nixon, a nationally known spoken-word artist who discusses social and community issues, and prominent psychologist Dr. Amoasi Kweku, who discusses health and mental wellness.
Then the opportunity with Smiley came up.
“We thought it was a good fit for us,” Kelley added. “We always need opinions and different voices to help educate and empower our community.”
Smiley brings a lot to the station, added Michelle Bryant, WNOV’s Morning Drive talk show host. From his early days at BET to his national syndicated shows on PBS, NPR and PRI, Smiley has influenced “the political landscape, particularly in the Black community,” Bryant said.
More: Tavis Smiley makes comeback bid after PBS firing over workplace misconduct allegations
This, Bryant noted, will foster insightful dialogue from Smiley and his guests that listeners expect.
“I think (listeners) are going to expect the Tavis that they have known over the years — to be sharp, incisive, to ask tough questions and to bring up the issues that are important to them,” Bryant said. “He is someone who has long spoken to the issues of Black people, which is predominately our base at WNOV.”
Smiley’s expansion into the Wisconsin market, comes at a time when the state is seen as a key battleground state as voters face a rematch between President Joe Biden and Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race.
Black radio and its audience, Bryant said, play a key role in the upcoming election, especially in Wisconsin, where Biden won by a razor-thin margin in 2020.
“This becomes a really significant place for folks to land to come and talk to voters,” she said of WNOV.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WNOV adds Tavis Smiley talk show to lineup
