– Aaliyah Anderson, from “The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson”
Today marks the end of a rather interesting week for me. On Monday, I finally got the paperback copies of my novel The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson to sell. It was a momentous occasion! All the hard work and studying on business, psychology, economics and power lead up to the moment where my journey to achieve my dream ended and the journey to become a success with the resources now at my disposal began. Nothing could take away the natural high that I felt as I flipped through the pages of my own novel!
Then, the next morning, I check my email…….
I always find myself critically analyzing the triumphs and missteps of everyone I see and know. It helps me sharpen my game. So when I opened my inbox and saw the heading Tom Joyner Gets Booted Off The Air In His Hometown from the Financial Juneteenth website, I immediately clicked away to learn what went down. The article informed us on something that many people have predicted for the longest time, since 2009 to be exact. Black radio legend Tom Joyner, who’s been on air for 20 years and was the first black radio personality to get his own syndicated show, is finally seeing his reign come to an end.
Not to be disrespectful but the competition has gotten better. Steve Harvey has completely taken over the media sphere with his widely popular radio show, movies, best-selling books and daytime T.V. show that’s still standing after three seasons. Hip Hop is still a huge draw and Rickie Smiley, Russ Parr (who both are under the Radio One umbrella as well) and The Breakfast Club crew out of New York are commanding attention with their hilariously funny antics and controversial topics. Let’s not forget that there are other notable morning radio shows both local and national that he’s competing with as well. Simply put, this isn’t the nineties anymore.
What has Tom Joyner done to reaffirm his place as the king of the black radio scene? Outside of updating in the areas of technology, not much. The content has steadily stayed the same and fans, both old and new, are getting fed up. There’s nothing wrong with keeping up with a winning formula but when you see the formula isn’t working anymore don’t you reevaluate yourself and make changes? Because of their unwillingness to change, The Tom Joyner Morning Show is steady losing out affiliates to the rising, repackaged brand that is Steve Harvey. Some folks are just turning away altogether, like Dallas did.
But Tom is going to be alright! He’s still on 90 other stations around America with millions of listeners and the internet works in his favor. Folks in Dallas that still want to listen to the show can download Tunein or iHeartRadio and never miss a beat. Even better, they can cut out the middleman and download the TJMS app and wake up to Tom Joyner and his crew of comedians and social commentators.
My week steadily rolled on. I spread the word about my novel and even sold a few copies! Meanwhile, the news of Bill Cosby’s rape allegations still lingered in the national news media like the pungent smell of marijuana in the hallways of a pubic high school via a restroom. The legendary comedian, who changed the face of network television with The Cosby Show and was jet set on buying NBC back in the early nineties, is having his name drug through the mud over rape allegations. The empire he built is crumbling right before our eyes.
The reruns of The Cosby Show are getting taken off T.V., the cornerstone of his blacklisting. As a young man that respected, and still respects, Bill Cosby’s contributions to the black media landscape I stand conflicted. Did he do it? Should I feel sorry for him, seeing as he
took every chance to spite my generation and tell us we won’t be anything due to the way some of us tend to wear our clothes? Let’s not forget his infamous, near slanderous NAACP speech from May 17, 2004, which one of my role models Michael Eric Dyson ripped to shreds with precision and tact.
I just decided to remain undecided on that issue. It doesn’t affect me either way right? That’s his problem right? I soon realized that the issue he’s going through hit home after I received the news today that Queen Latifah’s talk show is getting canceled. She once again fails at keeping a talk show on air, once again losing the pivotal ratings war. While her numbers weren’t horrible, they weren’t good enough for television affiliates around the nation to sign on for another season.
Man, life lessons become apparent in crazy ways. What I took from these three news events is this, no one is untouchable. If you become too comfortable in your position, you r
isk the chance of losing your position altogether. You can rely on name recognition and accolades to keep you afloat. You have to be innovative and go against the grain to exist in this short attention span society. The concept of being a corporate puppet is dead too. When your puppeteers are done using you to promote their agenda, they’ll toss you to the side and get someone younger and even more impressionable.
And as far as the Bill Cosby thing goes, I’m still undecided. If he did it he deserves to get thrown under the bus! I desire for my game and mouthpiece to be so tight that I don’t have to force folks to be with me and like me. As a matter of fact, I don’t now! If you don’t want to associate with the budding brand that is Randall Barnes, in a professional or intimate way, that’s your choice and I won’t try to change your mind. Trying to get a person set in their ways to change their mindset and forcing someone into doing something they don’t want to do is time consuming and a risk to everything I’m working so hard to build.
So it’s either get with the program or get gone!
-We came, we saw, we conquered! My debut publishing effort “Riverview High: Circumstances” reached #2 on the Amazon charts! Check it out on Amazon today. Don’t forget to leave a review!
-“The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson” is out now! Make sure to go get it!
Do you have any questions, comments or concerns? Was I right or wrong on this issue? I would love to hear from you! Contact me directly at:
Email: [email protected]
Kik: @AuthorRandallB
Ask.Fm: @YoungandGiftedBooks
Twitter: @AuthorRandallB
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