Takes Activities to New Levels

Not all of Joyner’s relationships with corporate America were confrontational, as his national influence translated into advertising revenue and sponsorships for TJMS, contributions to the Tom Joyner Foundation, and financial support for new undertakings. These activities included the BlackAmericaWeb.com Internet site he launched in June 2001, with links to web sites for TJMS and the foundation, along with a variety of health, educational, financial, inspirational, and cultural information. Joyner also continued his annual Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage cruise in partnership with Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and numerous other corporate sponsors. In 2002 General Mills Inc. presented a $600,000 donation to the Tom Joyner Foundation, the largest single gift in the history of the organization to that point, and Kellogg supported fund-raising galas for HBCUs featuring Joyner with a $110,000 contribution.

In January 2003 Joyner founded his own multimedia company, REACH Media, Inc., and made more history when he purchased TJMS from ABC Radio Networks. In February of the same year, Joyner celebrated Black History Month by promoting his new book, Interactive Guide to Historically Black Universities , which was developed in partnership with the William J. Clinton Foundation and included an accompanying compact disk (CD) with detailed information on 104 HBCUs.

To publicize the book and CD, Joyner and former president Clinton appeared on CNN as guests on Larry King Live and used the occasion to emphasize the continuing importance of HBCUs. Joyner indicated that the CD was being sent to every public high school in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., and to every public school with more than fifty black students in the rest of the country. Black Enterprise, Essence , and Vibe magazines also distributed the CD to their subscribers.

Despite his many involvements, Joyner managed to balance his career and his marriage, as more opportunities continued to come in his direction. McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast food company, featured Joyner in commercials promoting his “365 Black” concept celebrating African American history throughout the year. Proctor and Gamble also entered into major advertising and sponsorship agreements with Joyner, which were incorporated into TJMS, BlackAmericaWeb.com, and other enterprises under the REACH Media umbrella. The company successfully launched the first annual Tom Joyner Family Reunion during the 2003 Labor Day weekend, again partnering with Walt Disney World and attracting more than 7,000 people to Orlando for the event.

In 2004 Joyner continued to use his celebrity and success to positively impact and influence individuals, HBCUs, and the larger community. The foundation established a $700,000 challenge to raise funds for student scholarships at HBCUs, and later in the year offered $500,000 to help Barber-Scotia College, one of the smaller HBCUs with serious financial problems. In 2005, the foundation made available scholarships of $1,000 each to students from Xavier, Dillard, and Southern University in New Orleans who were forced to leave their schools during the tragic consequence of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and who, the interim, transferred to other colleges. Other activities included “Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day,” with cooperation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the March to Vote rally in Miami, Florida prior to the November elections. Joyner continued to receive honors, as the National Association of Broadcasting presented him with the 2004 Marconi Radio Award as the nation’s top syndicated radio personality. He was also inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, as he had made Dallas his home and base of operations some years earlier.

Joyner signed a contract with TV One during the same year, a new cable network targeting African American viewing audiences. As a result, the TJMS Sky Shows would broadcast live on both radio and television. In November 2004 REACH Media, Inc. was acquired by Radio One, Inc., for $56 million in cash and stock, making Joyner a very wealthy man. Radio One was also black-owned, founded by Cathy L. Hughes in 1980, and had become the seventh largest radio broadcasting company in the nation.

Joyner’s personal financial resources became such that when he offered to buy Morris Brown College, an HBCU in Atlanta that had been closed due to financial and accreditation problems, it was not assumed that he was being humorous. While he no longer needed to work, Joyner remained committed to his extensive broadcasting schedule out of love for his audiences and the sheer fun of doing his programs.

The Tom Joyner Foundation continued its valuable work, partnering with the National Education Association in 2005 to increase the number of minority teachers in urban and rural public school systems. Joyner remained the man in the forefront as well as behind the scenes, “partying with a purpose,” making invaluable contributions through his entrepreneurship and philanthropy because of his passion for life and people, particularly those in the African American community.