Tom Joyner Back On The Air In Chicago

Last month I had a post titled "Sad Letter From Tom Joyner This Week" that explored the ramifications of the nationally syndicated The Tom Joyner Morning Show being dropped from the Chicago radio station that carried them.

So today's news - the The Tom Joyner Morning Show will have a new radio home in Chicago, beginning this Wednesday - was one of those sappy feel good moments where I got to feel like I made a difference.

This Wednesday, the TJMS will be coming back to Chicago on SOUL 106.3FM The Best Mix of R&B!
Mornings 5a-9a SOUL 106.3FM WSRB


Chicago, and our friends and family from all over the country, you have spoken, you have emailed, you have Tweeted—and once again your activism has made a difference in a big way! We are going back on the air in Chicago, and if I could hug and thank each and every one of you individually, I would. Starting Wednesday, our new home will be SOUL 106.3FM!

The best way for you and all of us to claim a victory is for you and everyone you know to make sure all of your radios are tuned in to SOUL 106.3FM weekday mornings from 5am-9am . When you do this, we all are helping lack radio thrive. Let’s show the world we’re not only here, but we are strong, we are empowered and we are able to make things happen!

We will be visiting Chicago soon to let you know in person how much we appreciate everything you did to ensure we could still have a voice in the community. Until then keep blogging, texting us at OH OH OH (646464) or mingling with us online on the Tom Joyner Facebook Fan Page and on Twitter. The more ways that we can reach out to each other, the stronger we can become and the more assurance we’ll have that we can stand up to any force when we’re on the right side.

Thank you to the thousands upon thousands of you who let the media know that you wanted us back. Special thanks to our friends at WCIU, The U for their support. (And don’t forget, you could still win a trip from The U to come see us in Dallas!) It touches my heart to know all of you care as much as you do. I feel the love and the sentiment everywhere I go.

Tom Joyner

Tom Joyner was creating a social media company before anybody knew what "social media" was. Not only does his radio show emphasize the importance of higher education for African Americans EVERY SINGLE DAY HE IS ON THE AIR, unlike Steve Harvey or Doug Banks or the rest of the Negro LaughaPalooza radio personalities who make "the 'hood" sound like a temple of higher learning, Joyner puts his money where his mouth is, with promotion after promotion after promotion aimed at giving students in college cash on the barrel head. He will raise money for your historically black college or university at the drop of a hat, and always has something positive and personal to say about all of them, including his own beloved alma mater, the Tuskegee Institute. And back when the Resident Diva was going to elementary school, we used to listen to the "little known black history fact" segment every morning before she got out of the car to go to homeroom.

The radio d.j., for many of us, are the new community leaders, especially in urban areas, where they keep their audiences informed on long morning commutes to work. In big cities, many end up listening to these guys (because they are still mostly men) more than they listen to their preacher.

So what do we want?

Tom Joyner used to own his show, which is how he got to do what he wanted, the way he wanted, in a way that could benefit the communities where his listeners live. The only thing a lot of these other morning show minstrels are doing is making Clear Channel Communications rich.

Glad to see that Mr. "Party With A Purpose" has still got the juice.

A Sad Letter From Tom Joyner This Week

Radio jock Tom Joyner's letter this week to his Chicago listeners was an eye opener. The nationally syndicated radio host, who got his start in morning radio in Chicago, will no longer be on the air in that market. I don't listen to the radio very much - even more rarely in the morning - but when I do, I tune in to theTom Joyner Morning Show because I like what Joyner is doing. To me, our urban radio DJ personalities are powerful people. They have the ear of their listeners at least five days a week. Even if you go to church on Sunday, and Wednesday night for prayer meeting, most black people who listen to the radio regularly are exposed to their local DJ a lot longer than they are to their pastor.

What's going on in black radio? I haven't done any research, but I could imagine how XM radio, IPods, and CD players have reduced their audiences, along with the broadening of black listening habits. For the upwardly mobile, well educated set who has to let you know they aren't "typical", the line "I listen to NPR" has as much cachet as vacationing at Martha's Vineyard in the summer does.

Joyner's show losing ground is symptomatic of how changing demographics and the economic slowdown are going to affect all black media companies in the next couple of years. The Johnson Publishing Company has admitted that falling revenues from its flagship publication, Ebony Magazine, and its sister publication, Ebony/Jet Digest, have put its business at risk. TV One is suffering its own budget woes, even as the country's first African American president presents a prime opportunity for the cable network to expand its reach.

But back to the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Getting rid of Tom's show is one thing. Replacing it with The Steve Harvey Show - now that’s a travesty. You can't drive five miles in the morning without hearing to Joyner give someone somewhere some money to stay in school, remind his listeners to donate to a black college, or promote something related to higher education. There is no black radio DJ in the country who demonstrates his level of commitment to increasing the number of black kids who go to college.

Not one. Not even close.

To do this week in and week out in addition to all the other community issues he explores and promotes while still producing a show that entertains a mass audience is tougher than tough. Ask the people at NPR's News and Notes if you don't believe me - this black issues oriented news is either off the air or will be soon due to budget cuts, but the reality of their situation that I'm sure was taken into consideration was the size of their audience - I would imagine that it wasn't big enough to be near the top of the NPR food chain, even with nationwide distribution.

The reality that Joyner has to face is the age of his audience. I need to look it up, but I think the bulk of his listeners are in the 35 year old to 55 year old range. I have no idea what marketing guru decided that getting new customers for your brand should take a major share of your advertising budget. I've got a sneaking suspicion that the people over 30 make most companies much more money than their new ones will, but changing the conventional wisdom in the ad game is well nigh impossible.

So the Tom Joyner Morning Show - or the "TJMS", as they refer to it on the air - won't go on forever. So I'm glad Tom got his money out of TJMS while it was hot. And you don't have to feel too sorry for Mr. Joyner - he is a significant, if not the majority shareholder in Black America Web as well as a host of other media properties. His "Party With A Purpose" might have a smaller audience, but I’m certain the party will go on.