Last week, Chicago’s Crawford Broadcasting station 106.3 (WSRB) announced that after eight years, they were canceling the Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS) and going local by bringing in Mike Love to take over the morning show slot. There are no other options at this time for Joyner to broadcast on the commercial dial in the market. Chicago has been a key market for Tom Joyner and the Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS) for decades.Love did a FaceBook Live video (below) announcing the change letting listeners know it was time for a change and the station wanted to be more local. There were mixed reactions on the FB Live video.The show will be called “Mix Mornings.” The moniker is “More Music and More Chicago.” We’ve gotten several responses, some posted and some not about the change. There has been a very mixed reaction here as well. One listener said: “I’ve been listening to TJMS for 20+ years!! Tom Joyner is a lot more than just a radio DJ. Loyal listeners know where I am going with this!! Not happy about it at all!! But Who the F… am I!????”Another TJMS supporter said: “You must be too young to remember that Tom WAS Chicago radio, and those of us who grew up listening to him on WJPC and later WGCI will always consider him a Chicago DJ.” Another response was more neutral by responding “Radio listening is so different these days. You can listen to any radio show on the planet that you wish on your smartphone and an appropriate app (provided the show is being streamed online). So, if a show is pulled off of your favorite radio station, just listen to it on your smartphone, tablet, or computer.”A Mike Love fan stated:” I’m truly excited to hear Mike Love in the mornings!!!! Tom Joyner could not connect with a generation like ours anymore. I grew up listening to Bad Boy Radio and can’t wait for the fun in the mornings!” Another Mike Love supporter said: “Best wishes to Tom. I would be sad if Tom’s show was from Chicago (but) it was not and as great as his show is/was, it could not connect to the people of Chicago because of the “national” audience… Radio should be LOCAL. Chicago needs personalities that can SPEAK directly to Chicagoans.”For those of us who work in radio, we know this pattern all too well. People resist initially then the beat goes on and we will follow up a month from now and I can predict there will be more support for Mike Love’s show and those who are hardcore Joyner fans will indeed find another way to listen.[flowplayer id=”181313″]
Chicago Radio Fans Mixed Reaction over Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS) Leaving the City
This article is the perfect example of why I have said for years there should be a format in-between Urban and UAC. For the purposes of this response, let’s call it RAC (or Rap Adult Contemporary, but let’s not assume that is limited to rap. Tom Joyner represents an age group of 55-60+ and while they may be progressive and listen to some younger music, the discussions they have are usually older leaning. Mike Love represents an age group of 30-55. We grew up on hip-hop will still loving Disco (or house as it is known in Chicago), and R&B, and Funk (mostly due to our parents). Our parents don’t fall into the music on many Oldies stations playing Nat King Cole and the like, but skew younger with Smoke Robinson, and Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, EWF, James Brown and more. Let’s also keep it real, there is overlap in our interests as well. I just don’t think radio stations should have to remove listeners from there listenership. Doing things like this is a good way to lose listeners that will go to iHeartRadio and TuneIn app to find TJMS for their music.
I have to weigh in on this Joyner leaving Chicago thing. For one Tom Joyner (Reach Media) was paying Crawford Broadcasting to air the TJMS on 106.3 FM. Crawford Broadcasting was NOT losing Money with the TJMS show in Chicago (They probably raised ad rates). What if Reach Media felt Chicago wasn’t a good market for TJMS anymore? 106.3 FM doesn’t have the BEST signal in Chicago anyway and Reach Media figured they could better waste money elsewhere? Tom has had a great RUN in Chicago he started at WVON in the Late 70’s and became a fixture in Chicago radio because he is ONE HELL OF A PERSONALITY!! He is a TRUE RADIO Personality. It was his relationship with John H. Johnson and WJPC where he learned how to “Super Size” his audiences and BECAME THE BEST at it. He is a radio Legend I would feel sad if the TJMS originated out of Chicago. The TJMS did not originate out of Chicago really Chicago is not a Syndicate Radio Town. I am one of those who HATES syndicated RADIO I don’t care who it is. I LOVED Mr. Joyner as a LOCAL personality but when he hit syndication in 1994. I cut him loose as well as all SYNDICATED programming. Despite all of the great things Mr. Joyner has accomplished through the TJ Foundation blackAmerica Web and others. Father time has never been defeated and just like Marvin Gaye sang – Got To Give It Up.. Tom does too. I remember teaching my class about radio and the students stated that they didn’t like the TJMS because as one student told me. Tom is good but he can’t tell us anything about Young Jeezy (millennials) . Baby Boomers love Tom because that’s all they know. We were forced to have only Tom Joyner. Tom played the game right to get where he was. I wish Mike Love all the success in the World and I hope that his success convinces other BROADCASTERS to invest in LOCAL talent. My beef with Tom is that his personal success came at the cost of so many others that wanted to get into this GAME.. Syndication KILLS Jobs so many people lost Jobs because of syndication. So I wish Tom success in whatever other markets and wherever he is located in the media. Let’s take radio back to where it belongs — LOCALLY !! Peace…
I will miss TJMS, and will not be following Mike Love
I only listen on Sunday’s to Raggman.No other reason to listen any other time,and never will