Life After Tom Joyner , What’s Next for J Anthony Brown?

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What’s next for J Anthony Brown?

J Anthony Brown, TheIndustry.biz J Anthony Brown left the Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS) , after 20 years so what’s next for the legendary comedian when it comes to the possibility of being on the air again?

First let me say I have seen J Anthony Brown do his routine OFF the air on the Tom Joyner Cruise and the man is certainly a great comedian but now that The Breakfast Club Radio Show, Big Boy, Yolanda Adams, Rudy Rush, Ebony Steele and a few others are looking for any extra spots on Black radio morning slots around the country, especially in major markets, is there even ROOM for another show? Yes, there are two formats at Black, there is Urban radio and Urban Adult (the Boom format is more Rhythmic) but many of the hosts are well over 40 or approaching it.

Radio is Not Easy

Being on the air in Black radio for 20 years is quite rare. The audience is certainly accustomed to a host at that point so J Anthony certainly has leverage. Last year at this time, he walked off the Show on a recorded segment.  We got the exclusive on that for TheIndustry.biz as well. But just as soon as he made the announcement, things changed and it was announced that he would be back on the air again. Since he is leaving almost a year later it is beyond evident it’s a contract dispute as it was a year ago but this time there was no baker to sweeten the deal.

The exclusive that we got at TheIndustry.biz announcing J’s departure stated that he had been speaking to Gary Bernstein about possible future radio endeavors. We contacted Bernstein, who stated he was not in an agreement, per say, with J Anthony Brown but he did have a conversation with him before he left the show. No details were given about that conversation. Bernstein is one of the most sought after Radio syndicators in the radio game and he is currently working on a deal for Wendy Williams to return to radio for a syndicated show.

Bernstein ironically once worked for Tom Joyner and Reach Media but he now runs his own company. Currently, there are a plethora of Black comedians who want to follow in Steve Harvey’s footsteps and get into radio syndication, Joyner is radio industry legend and pro, the ones who want to follow in Harvey’s steps don’t understand how radio works but are more attracted to the lure of success (and payday) like Harvey’s but truth be told, there’s only one Steve Harvey.  

Gospel singers and older R&B singers also want a piece of the radio pie but the airwaves are very tight right now when you also consider the many black DJs occupying the air space in many markets trying to progress in their career too, the options are limited. So the question becomes, is there room for J Anthony Brown? From our perspective, the answer is it depends on what he is willing to do.

J Anthony Brown has Leverage

The greatest benefit is the audience already knows him but the morning show slot for a new show at Black or syndication is WAY too tight now that so many other shows are looking for extra Radio Stations too.

So at this point, you have Joyner, Steve Harvey, Rickey Smiley, Erica Cbell (Yolanda Adam’s replacement)  and Yolanda Adams who is back trying to rebuild her platform as well as Rudy Rush (Doug Bank’s first replacement) who is now in Houston AND you also have Ebony Steele (Rudy’s replacement) and a few other local big morning shows that will be making a foray into the syndication scene next year.

We were recently interviewed on who would replace J Anthony on the Tom Joyner show and I stated, while the lure and the money to do radio syndication is attractive to comedians, it’s not easy and it requires a lot of discipline. Many comedians are used to doing shows at night in clubs and traveling but in order to do quality radio with compelling content and interviews you better be at up 4AM and ready to work each morning. The hectic schedule, while helping them maintain and rebuild their careers, can be very demanding if not exhausting.

Many people don’t know that Steve Harvey rarely does his radio show in Atlanta, where the staff is based, but he does it on the road, in addition he has two true Radio Pros on board (Shirley Strawberry and Carla Ferrell) who can carry the weight when he’s not there.

No Time to Waste

Brown would have to move quickly if he wants to be back on the air because Black listeners have very short-term memories. In addition, now that Michael Baisden is back on the radio scene, competition is about to get very tough for air time, even though Baisden will be doing afternoons some programmers may opt to have Baisden on in the afternoon and move their afternoon talent to mornings which would be a great break for local talent.  

Baisden has been off the air for three years, but he brilliantly kept his audience captivated by leveraging his social media and staying very active, writing books and making rare appearances. At the end of the day, it would behoove J Anthony Brown to do the same until he lands somewhere. If he REALLY wants to make a point, he could be a fill-in host for Steve Harvey but that may not sit too well with Joyner.

Yet, it would definitely indicate that the competition between Joyner and Harvey would graduate to relentless. Many people are also asking how long can Harvey can keep doing radio with his ever-growing schedule? We predict that J Anthony Brown will be back but it’s going to be a minute and in a whole different capacity. SEE OUR REPLACEMENT SUGGESTIONS FOR J. ANTHONY BROWN


16 COMMENTS

  1. Black women will have to accept some responsibility for the negative images that are portrayed in the media because we waited this long to finally get upset enough to say enough is enough. We have a large economic base and we need to exercise it to let Corporate America know that “We are tired of this and we are not going to take it anymore”. We also need to educate and uplift our young women to see themselves in a positive image. The strong Black man must also come to our defense because we are his mothers, sisters, daughters, wife and friend. C. Deloris Tucker was right in her fight against the negative images that Rap music portrays but she got little support and was ridiculed for her actions as being out of touch. She should have targeted her fight against the music industry record executives that refuse to promote positive rap and pushed the gangster rap and encouraged the artists to keep it coming. If we had stood with Ms. Tucker in large numbers back then maybe it would not be so bad now. A large percentage of music videos is pornography with good music behind it. The majority of images in the media portray black women as loud-mouth, sexual toys, violent, or lazy. We all know black women in our lives who are hard-working, caring, intelligent and strong who keep our community going but we get so much grief from everyone that we must be super human to have endured so much in this world. Stay strong black women we are the mothers of civilization.

  2. Unless Jay-Z, Diddy or someone else has some form of drastic earnings in the remainder of the year, 50 Cent is more or less guaranteed the top spot for the 2007 list with his earnings from Glaceau’s sale alone.

    I definitely give credit to them and others who use their influence on youth culture to inspire entrepreneurship amongst their fans.

  3. Hopefully, other rap stars are paying attention, in watching shows like “Cribs” on MTV, it’s a bit discouraging. Black rap stars are doing the usual, 20 cars and a big house that if worse comes to worse they will LOSE money on because it’s too big to sell.

  4. The tom Joyner morning show is nowhere near as funny and good as it was with J Anthony brown … I think that was a big mistake letting him go… .the show will never be the same… .

  5. J. Anthony Brown was the one that kept the show going once Myr J. and Ms. Dupree left. It was also probably for the best. Many of the comedians he graced the Comic View and Def Comedy Jam in the 90s(Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley) are headlining their own radio shows.

  6. I have listened to the TJ M S for years just to hear J A. Brown. When J Wasn’t there I would turn to Steve Harvey. J was the show. Things definitely won’t be the same. Hello Steve Harvey morning show.

  7. J Anthony was the glue. When he was late when he was sick it was always hilarious. He may
    Need pr to keep his name out there, but I don’t
    Think so. JA is unique. I missed him in Nashville,
    But if he ever comes again, I will be there to
    support him. I love tjms but not as much.
    Look at how many entertainers it takes to
    Replace JA. Its not the same. I love Tom,
    but I also blame him for letting J go. Whatever J
    J does, he has my support. Tjms is not the same

  8. Bring j Anthony back tom. In this world of changes this is not a good time to let him go. He was hilarious in the morning something we all need especially now. Swallow your pride tom and get him back. The comedians you are replacing him with are funny. But is not the same

  9. I just found out today that j Anthony wasn’t on the show anymore, it was like a the people you’ve loved forever just got divorceed or left or something really sad”? happened ! I love the TJMS, why do we always “mess up ” a great thing. Please come back J! Please let him come back Tom!

  10. THOSE FOR MENTIONED PEOPLE WERE, ARE,IS TJMS.THEY KEPT IT ALIVE.DONT LIKE,NEVER CARED FOR TJ BUT WITH THOSE AGAIN FOR MENTIONED I LIKE THE SHOW.

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