Tom Joyner Morning Show: Overrated or Over Hyped? (2011)
This show has gained the love and respect of alot of old school listeners around America. The TJMS has even garnered the respect of younger children with their constant help in the community. Tom Joyner, a ledgend in the radio industry, is the host for this prime-time show and it seems as if this fits him. He's not too flamboyant yet he is still reconizable. His voice is distinct and he has a killer sence of humor. Honestly, Tom Joyner and the Tom Joyner Morning Show is really the reason why I have two radio shows in the first place. I listened to him back when I was a little kid and he gave me the insperation to go out and try to get a voice. It isn't that hard nowdays since it seems like I've found a home in both Spreaker and Talkshoe( That website and I have had many problems yet I'm back), but the drive is what puts you over the top. That's the characteristic that Tom possesses that really speaks to me
Back in the day when he was first starting to get his feet wet in radio hosting, he had two radio gigs. One in Dallas for their morning slot and one in Chicago for their afternoon drive, which is also a important timeslot in radio. Many people would just choose one of the posisions and leave the other high and dry but Tom got his hustle on and actually flew back and forth between Chicago and Dallas. Therefore, his famous knickname "The Flyjock was born. Do you understand how far Dallas is from Chicago??? His frequent flyer miles have to be at an insane number ! Some called him crazy. Others called him a visionary. Never the less, thats's why he's here. He deserves everything he has because he worked for it.
Now his radio show is a little bit of a sadder story............
What once was a fun loving, informative, enjoyable way to get to your destinaton in the morning and get you through your first parts of the day has now turned into departmentallized trash that I can't stand to listen to. The first thing that really upsets me is all the vacations that they take. These vacations don't even occur on holidays!. They have the Lil Wayne-Jay-Z Syndrome going on. They feel that because they been around for 17 years and achieved many things that they don't have to try. There are alot of up and coming shows that are riding your tail. Back in 2005, Tom debuted his own television show and was everywhere. Now its a differant story when you have fellow syndicated radio show host Steve Harvey with two NY Times best selling books, a hosting job on "Family Fued", 1 tv show (and one planned for next fall), and a movie on the way. Steve is effectively getting the same push that Tom was getting back in 2005. Does Tom not see this? If he dosn't put more effort into his craft, Steve is waiting to take his ass out.
Its not just Steve that he should be worried about. There's a implosion going on within his show team. Him and his co-host J. Anthoney Brown arn't really connecting like they use to. Yeah, J is a funny commedian and he still does things to help the show but at many times it seems like he's jobbin' for jokes. He says the stupidest things that make you say, "Huh?" and "What are you thinking?". The synergy is gone between the two. There are many reasons for this I believe. It could be the fact that J dosn't do his part from the studio anymore and telecommunicating outlets such as Skype and Ovoo usually have a three to five second delay depending on the strength of the connection. Or could it be a bigger reason........
I Believe Syblil has caused a rift and an inseprable split between the two that could very well cause a decline in the show's popularity. She's adds aboslutely nothing to the show. Anybody can read the news! Plus, she's not funny in the slightest!
You see this when I review the other morning shows such as The Steve Harvey Morning Show and The Russ Parr morning Show where they have two female co host with a hell of alot more charisma that play a big parts in their respective programs. Like I said, all she does is read news off of a paper, which I said in my audio review, is something that anybody can do. And she does it with no emotion at all. The fact that Tom and J drove Sheryl Underwood away because of her weight and the fact that "she looks like a man" is insane. How old are they again? That's so unprofessional! Another vital part of the show lost to Steve Harvey. Do you se a trend coming on?
Speaking of other personalities on the show, I love their five daily commedians Huggy Lowdown, Damon Williams, Chris Paul, Domonique, and King of Comedy tour member D.L Hugely. Their takes on the news in the world is hilarious. Roland Martain gives you very compelling content in his segment where he talks about politics and culture. Kevin Frazier, Jacque Reid, Stephanie Robinson, and Jeff Johnson also bring a more so realistic part of the show in their respective commentaries. Nikki Woods is also a great person to listen to as she gives you big events that are going on during the weekend. I totally disreguard Al Sharpton's segment because he's such a hypocrite. I want to be entertaied during the morning, not mad and enraged at how a sellout like him got onto my televison and a big segment on a popular syndicated show.
The Tavis Smiley ordeal is funny and sad at the same time. He's was the only person that was mainstream around the time that Barack was coming up that was actually telling the truth about him. Thats another reason why I'm not particularly fond of Al Sharpton. I urge you to go on Youtube and look up the infamous interview on his Radio show. Al was obturusive and rude and even hung up multiple times. Again, as I said in my audio review, Tavis didn't have to do that interview. He didn't deserve the treatment.
To answer my own question, I believe that the TJMS is overhyped. Their quality has really gone down ever since 2007. It seemend to start back when their hit soap opera "It's Your World" was discontinued because of money issues and the fan perticipation went down. Yet the show still has some bright spots with it array of comedians and commentators that keep their side fresh daily. J. Anthoney Brown's famous "Murdered Hits' are really funny as well. Overall, I believe that their run at the top is over. At one point they were the best morning show but now that they have competition, they just haven't been the same.
Check out my soon to be published story, "The Diary of Aaliyah Anderson" on WattPad!
http://www.wattpad.com/story/6314747-the-diary-of-aaliyah-anderson