ABC Radio Network
13725 Montfort Drive
Dallas, TX 75240
972/991-9200
http://www.tomjoyner.com
http://www.BlackAmericaWeb.com
If you want to reach 10.5 million community-minded African-American citizens, ages 35-54, you'll find them tuned to the "Tom Joyner Morning Show," which airs Monday through
Friday from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. CST in 125 U.S. markets (plus 30 other countries and on Armed Forces Radio). Host Tom Joyner was the first African-American to be elected to the
Radio Hall of Fame in 1999.
Content/Contacts
The leading urban radio show in the U.S., this four-hour program delivers music, talk, sports, gossip and comedy, plus a healthy serving of celebrity guests, from Spike Lee to
Oprah Winfrey to Al Sharpton to gymnast Dominique Dawes. Host Joyner is heavily involved in programming decisions and has built additional newsgathering might to support listener
interests and concerns. News items often are developed by staff at BlackAmericaWeb.com, Joyner's web venture, and then funneled to the show. Tidbits also come from sources at ABC
Radio Network.
Pitch Tips
If you've got dish that's relevant to the black community, reach Joyner at [email protected] or Neil Foote, COO of
BlackAmericaWeb.com, at [email protected]. (If you're lucky, news that first appears online will migrate onto the airwaves.)
To pitch celebrities, musical artists and guest experts directly, contact booking guru David Starr at 972/980-0098.
If your story doesn't have a black angle, don't bother pitching it. Mainstream news is welcome, provided it's got an African-American hook. Last week an item chronicled the
black turnout at the funeral of Washington Post legend Katherine Graham. Another reported that a Mississippi prison has ceased serving pork because it is verboten to black Muslim
inmates.
Joyner's cause celebre is "helping the black community better themselves" and much content is crafted with this mission in mind. A basketball player wanting to trash-talk on
the air isn't nearly as interesting to producers as one who's willing to discuss his bout with prostate cancer, on the rise among African-American men. Guests often come to
discuss nonprofit events relevant to the black community; author Walter Mosley recently joined the show to plug the Harlem Book Fair.
Comments
Keep in mind that the show's on-air crew operates virtually most of the time. Producer Ross Alan and Joyner usually work out of Dallas, but the show's other on-air crew members
are sprinkled throughout the country. For example, news anchor Sybil Wilkes works out of Chicago and L.A., while commentator Tavis Smiley is based in D.C.
According to Ross Alan, news and commentary on the show focus "not just on what's in the headlines, but also what's in between the headlines. Tom looks at stuff that's being
buried and why it's buried," he adds, citing one instance in which Joyner questioned plans by Christie's auction house to sell off slavery memorabilia.
Listeners are fiercely loyal and play an integral role in driving show content through on-air call-ins, letters, faxes and emails.
In The Pipeline
Every Friday, the show airs from a different city and features a live act. A recent Friday show aired from Richmond, Va., featuring the original P Funk. Other venues have
included Chicago, Augusta, Nashville, Albany, Tulsa, Kansas City and Ft. Lauderdale. Take note that locations for Friday "Skyshows" are booked at least a year in advance, and Alan
says the lineup is already full through mid-2002. If you want Joyner to pay a visit to your city, plan ahead by calling Starr. As for regular shows, Starr usually books guests a
couple weeks in advance, although segments aren't ever finalized until the day before each show.