Reach Media Pushes Back on Tom Joyner’s Forced Retirement

Reach Media, the syndicator of The Tom Joyner Morning Show is pushing back strongly against a controversial story that appeared yesterday in the widely read UK-based tabloid site Daily Mail. The lengthy and rambling article, which cites numerous unnamed sources, claims, among other things, “The 65-year-old entertainment veteran is being forced into an early retirement to not only make room for younger talent but also to coincide with the departure of President Barack Obama from the White House.” Huh? The story gets even weirder after that, repeatedly inferring that Joyner is being sold out by his longtime friend David Kantor, the President and CEO of Reach Media, who recently annexed CEO duties for Radio One’s Radio division. The piece also claims, without any documentation, that the company is planning to replace Joyner in Washington and Baltimore in January with Russ Parr.

Reach Media later issued a denial, sending out a statement that read, “Any stories that suggest major changes to the Tom Joyner Morning Show are inaccurate. Tom Joyner is under contract with Reach Media until the end of 2017. We expect that Reach will continue to syndicate Tom’s show beyond that date and for as long as he would like to be on the air.” The statement goes on to say, “There has always been refinements and updates to the show as well as market changes due to local conditions and there may be some in the future; but Tom Joyner and the Tom Joyner Morning Show continues to be strong and is a daily Party with a Purpose®. Reach is committed to Tom Joyner for the long term, and Tom remains committed to radio, his audience and the future.”