News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network. It may also include additional material such as sports coverage, weather forecasts, traffic reports, commentary and other material that the broadcaster feels is relevant to their audience.

Television news

Television news refers to disseminating current events via the medium of television. A "News bulletin" or a "Newscasts" are television programs lasting from seconds to hours that provide updates on world, national, regional or local news events. Television news is very image-based, showing video of many of the events that are reported. Television channels may provide news bulletins as part of a regularly scheduled news program. Less often, television shows may be interrupted or replaced by breaking news ("news flashes") to provide news updates on current events of great importance or sudden events of great importance.

Cable news

Cable news refers to channels which are devoted to current events 24-hours per day. The originator of this format from which the name derives is CNN (as well as CNN International and CNN-IBN), which originally stood for Cable News Network in reference to the then-new phenomenon of cable television. As satellite and other forms have evolved, the term ''cable news'' has become something of an anachronism but is still in common use; many other television channels have since been established, such as BBC World News, BBC News, Sky News, Al Jazeera, ABC News 24, France 24, STAR News, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Press TV, Russia Today, teleSUR and ABC News Now. Some news channels specialize even further, such as ESPNews (sports from ESPN); The Weather Channel (weather); CNBC, Bloomberg Television and Fox Business Network (financial).

A term which has entered common parlance to differentiate cable news from traditional news broadcasts is network news, in reference to the traditional television networks on which such broadcasts air. A classic example is the cable news channel MSNBC, which overlaps with (and, in the case of breaking world-changing events, pre-empts) its network counterpart NBC News.

Television news channel

Television news channels are television specialty channels which focus on presenting news content.

The world's first dedicated 24-hour news channels were BBC World News and CNN.

Radio news

Radio news is the same as television news but is transmitted through the medium of the radio. It is more based on the audio aspect rather than the visual aspect. Sound bites are captured through various reporters and played back through the radio. News updates occur more often on the radio than on the television - usually about once or twice an hour.

At most news/talk radio stations, newscasts run from :00-:06 minutes after the top of each hour. Some stations produce the entire six minutes on their own. Others begin with a network newscast, which covers national and world news, followed by a 2- or 3-minute local newscast. Most of the time, time is taken out of the news "window" for commercials and a weather forecast. In larger cities, traffic reports are also included. Some stations do traffic only during rush hour while others cover traffic around the clock.

Newscasts

Local TV news stations normally broadcast 3-4 times a day: 4:30, 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning; noon; 5:00 and 6:00 in the evening; and 10:00 or 11:00 at night. Some stations carry newscasts at 4:00, 4:30, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 11:00 or 11:30 in the morning, 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon, or 5:30 and 6:30 in the evening. Many Fox affiliates, affiliates of minor networks (such as The CW and MyNetworkTV) and independent stations air newscasts in the final hour of primetime (i.e., 10:00 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones or 9:00 p.m. in the Mountain and Central time zones in the U.S.). Many stations title their newscasts with catchy names like "Daybreak," "Good Morning (insert city or region here)," "First at Four," "Live at Five," "Eleven @ 11:00," or "Nightcast." These names are intended to set one station apart from the rest, especially for viewers who are chosen for audience measurement surveys. If the respondent was unable to provide a channel number or call letters, the newscast title is often enough for the appropriate station to receive Nielsen ratings credit.

Radio station newscasts can range from as little as a minute to as much as the station's entire schedule, such as the case of all-news radio.

More often, AM stations will air a 6½ minute newscast on the top of the hour, which can be either a local report, a national report from a radio network such as CBS Radio, Fox News Radio or ABC Radio, or a mix of both local and national content, including weather and traffic reports. Some stations also air a two minute report at the bottom of the hour.

FM stations, unless they feature a talk radio format, usually only air minute-long news capsules featuring a quick review of events and an abbreviated weather forecast, and usually only in drive time periods or in critical emergencies, since FM stations usually focus more on playing music. Traffic reports also air on FM stations, depending on the market

In some parts of the world there are 'rolling news' cable news TV channels that broadcast news 24 hours a day, such as CNN or Fox News in the United States or BBC News in the United Kingdom. Many news reports presented on the Internet are updated 24 hours a day.

Newscasts consist of several different elements, introduced by a news presenter or presenters. The presenters read 'links' and do interviews.

Most news stories come in the form of short 'packages'. These are pre-recorded reports usually lasting from one to five minutes. News reporters gather and edit together interview clips, pictures and their own 'pieces to camera' to tell a story. They script and record a 'voice-over' to explain the pictures and link the elements together.

Local television news stories are done as live television reports. This can be a news reporter on the scene of a story either being interviewed by a news anchor (sometimes known as a 'two-way'), a reporter interviewing one or more other people, or simply live pictures and sound of an event. The sound and pictures are sent back to the TV station via fixed cable links, microwave radio, production truck or even satellite truck. With the growth of "rolling news" channels the use, with help of the technical director, floor director audio technician and a television crew of operators running, character graphics (CG), teleprompter and professional video cameras. Most news shows are broadcast live.

References

See also

List of news channels

United States cable news

United States television news

Television news music package

Category:Broadcast journalism Category:Television terminology

ar:نشرة الأخبار ca:Informatiu de televisió de:Nachrichtensender es:Informativo televisivo eo:Informa televido fr:Journal télévisé id:Berita televisi it:Telegiornale nl:Journaal (televisie) ja:ニュース専門放送局 pl:Telewizja informacyjna pt:Telejornalismo sh:Informativni TV-program wa:Noveles al tévé zh:新聞頻道

FM broadcasting is a broadcast technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong that uses frequency modulation (FM) to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio.

Terminology

The term "FM band" is effectively shorthand for "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting". This term can upset purists because it conflates a modulation scheme with a range of frequencies.

The term "VHF" (Very High Frequency) was previously in common use in Europe. "UKW", which stands for ''Ultrakurzwellen'' (ultra short wave) in German, is still widely used in Germany, as is "UKV" (''Ultrakortvåg'') in Sweden and Slovenia (''ultra kratki valovi''), and "UKF" (''Ultrakrótkie fale'') in Polish.

Broadcast bands

Throughout the world, the broadcast band falls within the VHF part of the radio spectrum. Usually 87.5 to 108.0 MHz is used, or some portion thereof, with few exceptions:

In the former Soviet republics, and some former Eastern Bloc countries, the older 65–74 MHz band is also used. Assigned frequencies are at intervals of 30 kHz. This band, sometimes referred to as the OIRT band, is slowly being phased out in many countries. In those countries the 87.5–108.0 MHz band is referred to as the CCIR band.

In Japan, the band 76–90 MHz is used.

The frequency of an FM broadcast station (more strictly its assigned nominal centre frequency) is usually an exact multiple of 100 kHz. In most of the Americas and the Caribbean, only odd multiples are used. In some parts of Europe, Greenland and Africa, only even multiples are used. In Italy, multiples of 50 kHz are used. There are other unusual and obsolete standards in some countries, including 0.001, 0.01, 0.03, 0.074, 0.5, and 0.3 MHz.

''For more information on FM frequency allocations, see FM broadcast band.''

Modulation characteristics

Modulation

Frequency modulation (FM) is a form of modulation which conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency (contrast this with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant). In analog applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal. This form of modulation is commonly used in the FM broadcast band.

Pre-emphasis and de-emphasis

Random noise has a ''triangular'' spectral distribution in an FM system, with the effect that noise occurs predominantly at the highest frequencies within the baseband. This can be offset, to a limited extent, by boosting the high frequencies before transmission and reducing them by a corresponding amount in the receiver. Reducing the high frequencies in the receiver also reduces the high-frequency noise. These processes of boosting and then reducing certain frequencies are known as pre-emphasis and de-emphasis, respectively.

The amount of pre-emphasis and de-emphasis used is defined by the time constant of a simple RC filter circuit. In most of the world a 50 µs time constant is used. In North America and South Korea, 75 µs is used. This applies to both mono and stereo transmissions. For stereo, pre-emphasis is applied to the left and right channels before multiplexing.

The amount of pre-emphasis that can be applied is limited by the fact that many forms of contemporary music contain more high-frequency energy than the musical styles which prevailed at the birth of FM broadcasting. They cannot be pre-emphasized as much because it would cause excessive deviation of the FM carrier. Systems more modern than FM broadcasting tend to use either programme-dependent variable pre-emphasis; e.g., dbx in the BTSC TV sound system, or none at all.

FM stereo

In the late 1950s, several systems to add stereo to FM radio were considered by the FCC. Included were systems from 14 proponents including Crosley, Halstead, Electrical and Musical Industries, Ltd (EMI), Zenith Electronics Corporation and General Electric. The individual systems were evaluated for their strengths and weaknesses during field tests in Uniontown, Pennsylvania using KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh as the originating station. The Crosley system was rejected by the FCC because it degraded the signal-to-noise ratio of the main channel and did not perform well under multipath RF conditions. In addition, it did not allow for SCA services because of its wide FM sub-carrier bandwidth. The Halstead system was rejected due to lack of high frequency stereo separation and reduction in the main channel signal-to-noise ratio. The GE and Zenith systems, so similar that they were considered theoretically identical, were formally approved by the FCC in April 1961 as the standard stereo FM broadcasting method in the USA and later adopted by most other countries.

It is important that stereo broadcasts should be compatible with mono receivers. For this reason, the left (L) and right (R) channels are algebraically encoded into sum (L+R) and difference (L−R) signals. A mono receiver will use just the L+R signal so the listener will hear both channels in the single loudspeaker. A stereo receiver will add the difference signal to the sum signal to recover the left channel, and subtract the difference signal from the sum to recover the right channel.

The (L+R) Main channel signal is transmitted as baseband audio in the range of 30 Hz to 15 kHz. The (L−R) Sub-channel signal is modulated onto a 38 kHz double-sideband suppressed carrier (DSBSC) signal occupying the baseband range of 23 to 53 kHz.

A 19 kHz pilot tone, at exactly half the 38 kHz sub-carrier frequency and with a precise phase relationship to it, as defined by the formula below, is also generated. This is transmitted at 8–10% of overall modulation level and used by the receiver to regenerate the 38 kHz sub-carrier with the correct phase.

The final multiplex signal from the stereo generator contains the Main Channel (L+R), the pilot tone, and the sub-channel (L−R). This composite signal, along with any other sub-carriers, modulates the FM transmitter.

The instantaneous deviation of the transmitter carrier frequency due to the stereo audio and pilot tone (at 10% modulation) is

:$\backslash left\; [\; 0.9\; \backslash left\; [\; \backslash frac\{A+B\}\{2\}\; +\; \backslash frac\{A-B\}\{2\}\backslash sin4\backslash pi\; f\_pt\; \backslash right\; ]\; +\; 0.1\backslash sin2\backslash pi\; f\_pt\; \backslash right\; ]\; \backslash times\; 75~\backslash mathrm\{kHz\}$

where A and B are the pre-emphasized Left and Right audio signals and $f\_p$=19 kHz is the frequency of the pilot tone. Slight variations in the peak deviation may occur in the presence of other subcarriers or because of local regulations.

Converting the multiplex signal back into left and right audio signals is performed by a stereo decoder, which is built into stereo receivers.

In order to preserve stereo separation and signal-to-noise parameters, it is normal practice to apply pre-emphasis to the left and right channels before encoding, and to apply de-emphasis at the receiver after decoding.

Stereo FM signals are more susceptible to noise and multipath distortion than are mono FM signals.

In addition, for a given RF level at the receiver, the signal-to-noise ratio for the stereo signal will be worse than for the mono receiver. For this reason many FM stereo receivers include a stereo/mono switch to allow listening in mono when reception conditions are less than ideal, and most car radios are arranged to reduce the separation as the signal-to-noise ratio worsens, eventually going to mono while still indicating a stereo signal is being received.

Quadraphonic FM

In 1969 Louis Dorren invented the Quadraplex system of single station, discrete, compatible four-channel FM broadcasting. There are two additional subcarriers in the Quadraplex system, supplementing the single one used in standard stereo FM. The baseband layout is as follows:

50 Hz to 15 kHz Main Channel (sum of all 4 channels) (LF+LB+RF+RB) signal, for mono FM listening compatibility.

23 to 53 kHz (cosine quadrature subcarrier) (LF+LB) - (RF+RB) Left minus Right difference signal. This signal's modulation in algebraic sum and difference with the Main channel was used for 2 channel stereo listener compatibility.

23 to 53 kHz (sine quadrature 38 kHz subcarrier) (LF+RF) - (LB+RB) Front minus Back difference signal. This signal's modulation in algebraic sum and difference with the Main channel and all the other subcarriers is used for the Quadraphonic listener.

61 to 91 kHz (cosine quadrature 76 kHz subcarrier) (LF+RB) - (LB+RF) Diagonal difference signal. This signal's modulation in algebraic sum and difference with the main channel and all the other subcarriers is also used for the Quadraphonic listener.

95 kHz SCA subcarrier, phase-locked to 19 kHz pilot, for reading services for the blind, background music, etc.

There were several variations on this system submitted by GE, Zenith, RCA, and Denon for testing and consideration during the National Quadraphonic Radio Committee field trials for the FCC. The original Dorren Quadraplex System outperformed all the others and was chosen as the national standard for Quadraphonic FM broadcasting in the United States. The first commercial FM station to broadcast quadraphonic program content was WIQB (now called WWWW-FM) in Ann Arbor/Saline, Michigan under the guidance of Chief Engineer Brian Brown.

Other subcarrier services

The subcarrier system has been further extended to add other services. Initially these were private analog audio channels which could be used internally or rented out. Radio reading services for the blind are also still common, and there were experiments with quadraphonic sound. If stereo is not on a station, everything from 23 kHz on up can be used for other services. The guard band around 19 kHz (±4 kHz) must still be maintained, so as not to trigger stereo decoders on receivers. If there is stereo, there will typically be a guard band between the upper limit of the DSBSC stereo signal (53 kHz) and the lower limit of any other subcarrier.

Digital services are now also available. A 57 kHz subcarrier (phase locked to the third harmonic of the stereo pilot tone) is used to carry a low-bandwidth digital Radio Data System signal, providing extra features such as Alternative Frequency (AF) and Network (NN). This narrowband signal runs at only 1187.5 bits per second, thus is only suitable for text. A few proprietary systems are used for private communications. A variant of RDS is the North American RBDS or "smart radio" system. In Germany the analog ARI system was used prior to RDS for broadcasting traffic announcements to motorists (without disturbing other listeners). Plans to use ARI for other European countries led to the development of RDS as a more powerful system. RDS is designed to be capable of being used alongside ARI despite using identical subcarrier frequencies.

In the United States, digital radio services are being deployed within the FM band rather than using Eureka 147 or the Japanese standard ISDB. This in-band on-channel approach, as do all digital radio techniques, makes use of advanced compressed audio. The proprietary iBiquity system, branded as "HD Radio", currently is authorized for "hybrid" mode operation, wherein both the conventional analog FM carrier and digital sideband subcarriers are transmitted. Eventually, presuming widespread deployment of HD Radio receivers, the analog services could theoretically be discontinued and the FM band become all digital.

In the USA services (other than stereo, quad and RDS) using subcarriers are sometimes referred to as subsidiary communications authorisation (SCA) services. Uses for such subcarriers include book/newspaper reading services for blind listeners, private data transmission services (for example sending stock market information to stockbrokers or stolen credit card number blacklists to stores) subscription commercial-free background music services for shops, paging ("beeper") services and providing a program feed for AM transmitters of AM/FM stations. SCA subcarriers are typically 67 kHz and 92 kHz.

Dolby FM

A commercially unsuccessful noise reduction system used with FM radio in some countries during the late 1970s, Dolby FM used a modified 25 µs pre-emphasis time constant and a frequency selective companding arrangement to reduce noise. See: Dolby noise reduction system.

Distance covered by an FM stereo transmission

The range of an FM mono transmission is related to the transmitter RF power, the antenna gain and antenna height. The FCC (USA) publishes curves that aid in calculation of this maximum distance as a function of signal strength at the receiving location.

For FM stereo, the maximum distance covered is significantly reduced. This is due to the presence of the 38 kHz subcarrier modulation. Vigorous audio processing improves the coverage area of an FM stereo station.

Adoption of FM broadcasting worldwide

Despite FM having been patented in 1933, commercial FM broadcasting did not begin until 1939, when it was initiated by WRVE, the FM station of General Electric's main factory in Schenectady, NY. In countries outside of Europe it took many years for FM to be adopted by the majority of radio listeners.

The first ''commercial'' FM broadcasting stations were in the United States, but initially they were primarily used to broadcast classical music to an upmarket listenership in urban areas, and for educational programming. By the late 1960s FM had been adopted by fans of "Alternative Rock" music ("A.O.R. - 'Album Oriented Rock' Format"), but it wasn't until 1978 that listenership to FM stations exceeded that of AM stations in North America. During the 1980s and 1990s, Top 40 music stations and later even country music stations largely abandoned AM for FM. Today AM is mainly the preserve of talk radio, news, sports, religious programming, ethnic (minority language) broadcasting and some types of minority interest music. This shift has transformed AM into the "alternative band" that FM once was.

Europe

The medium wave band (known as ''AM'' in North America) is overcrowded in Western Europe, leading to interference problems and, as a result, many MW frequencies are suitable only for speech broadcasting.

Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and particularly Germany were among the first countries to adopt FM on a widespread scale. Among the reasons for this were:

#The medium wave band in Western Europe became overcrowded after World War II, mainly due to the best available medium wave frequencies being used at high power levels by the Allied occupation forces, both for broadcasting entertainment to their troops and for broadcasting cold war propaganda across the Iron curtain. #After World War II, broadcasting frequencies were reorganized and reallocated by delegates of the victorious countries in the Copenhagen Frequency Plan. German broadcasters were left with only two remaining AM frequencies, and were forced to look to FM for expansion.

Public service broadcasters in Ireland and Australia were far slower at adopting FM radio than those in either North America or continental Europe.

Australia

FM started in Australia in 1947 but did not catch on and was shut down in 1961 to expand the television band. It was not reopened until 1975. Subsequently, it developed steadily until in the 1980s many AM stations transferred to FM because of its superior sound quality. Today, as elsewhere in the developed world, most Australian broadcasting is on FM, although AM talk stations are still very popular.

New Zealand

Like Australia, New Zealand adopted the FM format relatively late. An experimental FM station, FM 90.7, was broadcast in Whakatane in early 1982. Later that year, Victoria University of Wellington's Radio Active began full-time FM transmissions. Commercial FM licences were approved in 1983, with Auckland-based 91FM and 89FM being the first to take up the offer.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the BBC began FM broadcasting in 1955, with three national networks carrying the Light Programme, Third Programme and Home Service (renamed Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4 respectively in 1967). These three networks used the sub-band 88.0–94.6 MHz. The sub-band 94.6–97.6 MHz was later used for BBC and local commercial services. Only when commercial broadcasting was introduced to the UK in 1973 did the use of FM pick up in Britain. With the gradual clearance of other users (notably Public Services such as police, fire and ambulance) and the extension of the FM band to 108.0 MHz between 1980 and 1995, FM expanded rapidly throughout the British Isles and effectively took over from LW and MW as the delivery platform of choice for fixed and portable domestic and vehicle-based receivers.

In addition, Ofcom (previously the Radio Authority) in the UK issues on demand Restricted Service Licences on FM and also on AM (MW) for short-term local-coverage broadcasting which is open to anyone who does not carry a prohibition and can put up the appropriate licensing and royalty fees. In 2006, almost 500 such licenses were issued.

Other countries

Most other countries expanded their use of FM through the 1990s. Because it takes a large number of FM transmitting stations to cover a geographically large country, particularly where there are terrain difficulties, FM is more suited to local broadcasting than for national networks. In such countries, particularly where there are economic or infrastructural problems, "rolling out" a national FM broadcast network to reach the majority of the population can be a slow and expensive process.

ITU Conferences about FM

The frequencies available for FM were decided by some important conferences of ITU. The milestone of those conferences is the Stockholm agreement of 1961 among 38 countries. A 1984 conference in Geneva made some modifications to the original Stockholm agreement particularly in the frequency range above 100 MHz.

Small-scale use of the FM broadcast band

Consumer use of FM transmitters

In some countries, small-scale (Part 15 in United States terms) transmitters are available that can transmit a signal from an audio device (usually an MP3 player or similar) to a standard FM radio receiver; such devices range from small units built to carry audio to a car radio with no audio-in capability (often formerly provided by special adapters for audio cassette decks, which are becoming less common on car radio designs) up to full-sized, near-professional-grade broadcasting systems that can be used to transmit audio throughout a property. Most such units transmit in full stereo, though some models designed for beginner hobbyists may not. Similar transmitters are often included in satellite radio receivers and some toys.

Legality of these devices varies by country. The FCC in the US and Industry Canada allow them. Starting on 1 October 2006 these devices became legal in most countries in the European Union. Devices made to the harmonised European specification became legal in the UK on 8 December 2006.

FM radio microphones

The FM broadcast band can also be used by some inexpensive wireless microphones, but professional-grade wireless microphones generally use bands in the UHF region so they can run on dedicated equipment without broadcast interference. Such inexpensive wireless microphones are generally sold as toys for karaoke or similar purposes, allowing the user to use an FM radio as an output rather than a dedicated amplifier and speaker.

Microbroadcasting

Low-power transmitters such as those mentioned above are also sometimes used for neighborhood or campus radio stations, though campus radio stations are often run over carrier current. This is generally considered a form of microbroadcasting. As a general rule, enforcement towards low-power FM stations is stricter than AM stations due to issues such as the capture effect, and as a result, FM microbroadcasters generally do not reach as far as their AM competitors.

Clandestine use of FM transmitters

FM transmitters have been used to construct miniature wireless microphones for espionage and surveillance purposes (covert listening devices or so-called "bugs"); the advantage to using the FM broadcast band for such operations is that the receiving equipment would not be considered particularly suspect. Common practice is to tune the bug's transmitter off the ends of the broadcast band, into what in the United States would be TV channel 6 (<87.9 MHz) or aviation navigation frequencies (>107.9); most FM radios with analog tuners have sufficient overcoverage to pick up these slightly-beyond-outermost frequencies, although many digitally tuned radios do not.

Constructing a "bug" is a common early project for electronics hobbyists, and project kits to do so are available from a wide variety of sources. The devices constructed, however, are often too large and poorly shielded for use in clandestine activity.

In addition, much pirate radio activity is broadcast in the FM range, because of the band's greater clarity and listenership, the smaller size and lower cost of equipment.

See also

FM broadcasting by country

FM broadcasting in Australia

FM broadcasting in Canada

FM broadcasting in Egypt

FM broadcasting in India

FM broadcasting in Japan

FM broadcasting in NZ

FM broadcasting in Pakistan

FM broadcasting in the UK

FM broadcasting in the USA

FM broadcasting (technical)

AM broadcasting

AM stereo (related technology)

FM broadcast band

Long-distance FM reception (FM DX)

Ripping music from FM broadcasts

RDS (Radio Data System)

Lists

List of broadcast station classes

Lists of radio stations in North and Central America

History

History of radio

Oldest radio station

References

External links

Related technical content

''Transmission standards for FM sound broadcasting at VHF.'' ITU Rec. BS.450

Compatible Four Channel FM System

Introduction to FM MPX

Stereo Multiplexing for Dummies Graphs that show waveforms at different points in the FM Multiplex process

Factbook list of stations worldwide

Invention History – The Father of FM

Audio Engineering Society

Category:Radio Category:Broadcast engineering

ar:إذاعة إف إم ca:Ràdio FM ceb:Radyong FM da:FM via VHF bånd II de:UKW-Rundfunk fr:Radio FM hi:एफ एम प्रसारण nl:FM-omroep ne:एफएम no:FM-båndet pt:Rádio FM ru:УКВ CCIR te:FM రేడియో

Neelesh Misra () is an Indian journalist, author, radio storyteller, Hindi script and lyrics writer, photographer and the Deputy Executive Editor of Hindustan Times. He also heads India's first Writer led Band ,Band Called Nine where storytelling meets songs.

Biography

Neelesh Misra was educated at St. Joseph's College, Nainital. As a journalist he has covered stories in South Asia, the Kargil war, the Asian Tsunami, Nepal’s Maoist rebellion, insurgencies in Kashmir and Naxalites in India. He has written three books.

He is the creative director and the lyricist of ''Band Called NINE''.

Books

Non-fiction

"The Absent State" (Hachette, 2010), a book on insurgency co-written with Rahul Pandita

"173 Hours in Captivity: The Hijacking of IC-814" (Harper Collins, 2000)

"End of the Line: The Story of the Killing of the Royals in Nepal" (Penguin, 2001)

Fiction

"Once Upon a Timezone" (Harper Collins, 2006)

As Editor

"India Yatra" (Harper Collins, 2009, with a foreword by Nandan Nilekani)

"Inspired India: Ideas to Transform a Nation" (Harper Collins, 2010, with a foreword by APJ Abdul Kalam)

"Dream Chasing ,One Man's Remarkable True Life Story", a book by his father, Dr. S.B.Misra.(Roli Books, 2011,with a foreword by Sam Pitroda )

Awards

Ram Nath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism (under the category “Covering India Invisible”, for a nine-part series on insurgency, titled "India Besieged") K. C. Kulish Memorial Award (jointly with Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, for the series "The New Muslim") K. C. Kulish Memorial Merit Award (for a nine-part series on insurgency, titled "India Besieged")

Personal Life

He is married to Nidhi Razdan, the host of NDTV 24x7, ''Left, Right & Centre'' and ''The Lead'' on NDTV and currently lives in New Delhi.

Bollywood Songs

''Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai'' - Jism

''Chalo tumko lekar chalein'' - Jism

''Maine dil se kaha'' - Rog

''Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai'' - Woh Lamhe

''Lamha Lamha'' - Gangster

''Bepanah Pyaar hai'' - Krishna Cottage

''Bolo Na Tum Zara'' - Fightclub

''O sexy Mama'' - 13B

''Khwaishon se'' - Holiday

''Gulon Mein Rang Bhare'' - Tribute to Faiz - Sikandar

''I am in love'' - Once Upon A Time In Mumbai

''Anjaana Anjaani ki Kahani'' - Anjaana Anjaani

''Abhi Kuch Dinon Se'' - Dil To Bachha Hai Ji

''Humko Pyaar Hua'' - Ready

''I Love You'' - Bodyguard

References

External Links

http://www.neeleshmisra.com/home.html

http://www.bandcallednine.com/

http://www.rovingwriter.blogspot.com/

Category:Indian writers Category:Living people Category:People from Nainital Category:People from Lucknow Category:Indian journalists

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Name	Noel Gallagher
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Noel Thomas David Gallagher
Born	May 29, 1967 Manchester, England
Genre	Rock, Britpop, alternative rock, psychedelic rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1991–present
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, sitar, melodica, mellotron, piano, violin
Influeneces	John Lennon, Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Ian Brown.
Label	Creation, Big Brother, Epic, Sour Mash
Associated acts	Oasis, The Rain, Tailgunner, Smokin' Mojo Filters, Inspiral Carpets, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Notable instruments	Epiphone Supernova Signature ModelGibson ES-355Epiphone RivieraEpiphone SheratonGibson Les PaulGibson J-200Fender TelecasterGibson Trini LopezEpiphone Les Paul }}

Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Raised in Burnage, Manchester with brother Liam, Noel began learning guitar at the age of thirteen. After a series of odd jobs in construction, Noel worked for local Manchester band, Inspiral Carpets as a roadie and technician in 1988. Whilst touring with the Inspiral Carpets, he learned that Liam had formed a band of his own, known as The Rain, which eventually took on the name "Oasis". After Noel returned to England, he was invited by Liam to join Oasis as songwriter and guitarist.

Oasis' debut album, ''Definitely Maybe'' (1994) marked the beginning of the band's rise to fame as head of the Britpop movement. Oasis' second album, ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' reached the top of the album charts in many countries and their third studio album ''Be Here Now (album)'' became the fastest selling album in the United Kingdom of all time. Britpop soon declined in popularity however, and Oasis' next two albums failed to revive its popularity, however the band's final two albums ''Don't Believe the Truth'' (2005) and ''Dig Out Your Soul'' (2008) were hailed as the band's best efforts in over a decade, which found the band renewed success. On 28 August 2009, following an altercation with Liam prior to a gig in Paris, Noel announced his departure from Oasis and on 23 October 2009, he confirmed he would embark on a solo career.

Noel's run with Oasis was marked by turbulence, especially during the peak of Britpop, during which Noel was involved in several disputes with Liam, and the brothers' fights and wild lifestyles regularly made headlines in British tabloid newspapers. Noel (along with Oasis) also shared a personal rivalry with fellow Britpop band Blur. However, Noel was often regarded as the spear-head of the Britpop movement, and at one point of time, ''NME'' termed a number of Britpop bands (including The Boo Radleys, Ocean Colour Scene and Cast) as "Noelrock", citing Gallagher's influence on their success. Many have praised Gallagher's songwriting, with George Martin claiming Noel to be 'the finest songwriter of his generation'.

Childhood and early life

Noel Gallagher was born in Longsight, Manchester, to Irish parents Peggy and Thomas Gallagher. He was the couple's second child, after the birth of Paul Gallagher. Soon after the birth of younger brother Liam in 1972, the Gallaghers moved to Ashburn Avenue in the Manchester suburb of Burnage. Noel had an unhappy childhood. He and his brothers were often beaten by his alcoholic father, and he was often reclusive—Liam described him as "the weirdo in the family". Due to their unease around their father, Noel and Paul both developed stammers. As the oldest child, Paul was given a room to himself, and Noel was forced to share with Liam.

Peggy Gallagher acquired a legal notice of separation from her husband in 1976. Six years later she finally left him, taking the three boys with her. As teenagers the Gallagher brothers—especially Noel—were regular truants, often getting in trouble with the police. When his mother took a job working in the school canteen, Noel ensured that he stopped by to visit her during lunch before skipping the rest of the day. He was expelled from school at the age of 15 for throwing a bag of flour over a teacher. He used to hang around with the football hooligan firms Maine Line Crew, Under-5s and Young Guvnors in the 1980s, and at the age of thirteen, Noel received six months' probation for robbing a corner shop. It was during this period of probation, with little else to do, that Noel first began to teach himself to play a guitar his father had left him, imitating his favourite songs from the radio. Noel was particularly inspired by the debut of The Smiths on ''Top of the Pops'' in 1983, performing their single "This Charming Man". He later reflected, "From that day on ... I wanted to ''be'' [Smiths guitarist] Johnny Marr."

As teenagers the Gallagher brothers maintained limited contact with their father in order to secure jobs in construction. However, the relationship between father and sons continued to be tempestuous; Noel said, "Because we were always arguing we'd still be working at nine o'clock every night". Having left his father's building company, he took a job at another building firm sub-contracted to British Gas. There he sustained an injury when a heavy cap from a steel gas pipe landed on his right foot. Following a period of recuperation, Noel was offered a less physically demanding role in the company's storehouse, freeing up time in which to practice guitar and write songs. He claimed to have written at least three of the songs on ''Definitely Maybe'' in this storehouse (including "Live Forever" and "Columbia"). He later called the storehouse "The Hit Hut" and claimed the walls were painted gold Much of the late 1980s found Noel unemployed and living in a bedsit, occupying his time with recreational drug use, songwriting and guitar playing.

In May 1988, Noel met guitarist Graham Lambert of Inspiral Carpets during a Stone Roses show. The two struck up an acquaintanceship and Noel became a regular at Inspiral Carpets shows. When he heard singer Steve Holt was leaving the band, Noel auditioned to be the new vocalist. He was rejected, but became part of their road crew for two years. Singer Tom Hingley said Gallagher owes his own career to the band, since "his business sense, work ethic, message and humour are Inspiral down to the core." Noel struck up a friendship with monitor engineer Mark Coyle over their love of the Beatles, and the pair spent sound-checks dissecting the group's songs.

Career with Oasis

Joining the band

In 1991, Noel returned from an American tour with the Inspiral Carpets to find that his brother Liam had become a singer with a local band called "The Rain". Noel attended one of their concerts at Manchester's Boardwalk, but was unimpressed by the group's act. After rejecting an offer from Liam to be the band's manager, he agreed to join the band, on the condition that he take creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter. According to another source, Noel Gallagher told Liam and the rest of the group after having heard them play for the first time: "Let me write your songs and I'll take you to superstardom, or else you'll rot here in Manchester". His control over the band in its early years earned him the nickname "The Chief".

In May 1993, the band heard that a record executive from Creation Records would be scouting for talent at King Tut's in Glasgow. Together, they found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey. When they arrived, they were refused entry to the club because no one notified the venue that Oasis had been added to the bill. The band eventually secured the opening slot and played a four-song set that impressed Creation founder Alan McGee. McGee then took the ''Live Demonstration'' tape to Sony America and invited Oasis to meet with him a week later in London, at which point they were signed to a six-album contract. Gallagher has since claimed that he only had six songs written at the time, and has put his success in the interview down to "bullshitting". However, McGee believes that when they met, Gallagher had fifty or so songs written, and merely lied about how prolific he had been following the contract. Richard Ashcroft was so impressed with Oasis during the time, that he invited them to tour with his band The Verve as an opening act.

Gallagher claimed to have written Oasis' first single, "Supersonic", in "the time it takes to play the song." "Supersonic" was released in early 1994 and peaked at No.31 on the official UK charts. The single was later followed by Oasis' debut album ''Definitely Maybe'', which was released in August 1994 and was a critical and commercial success. It became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time, and entered the UK Charts at #1. Despite their rapidly growing popularity, Noel briefly left Oasis in 1994 during their first American tour. The conditions were poor, and he felt the American audience—still preoccupied with grunge and metal—did not understand the band. Noel stated that his early songs, especially "Live Forever", were written to refute grunge's pessimism. Tensions mounted between him and Liam, culminating in a fight after a disastrous L.A. gig. Having effectively decided to quit the music industry, he flew to San Francisco without telling the band, management or the crew. It was during this time that Noel wrote "Talk Tonight" as a "thank you" for the girl he stayed with, who "talked him from off the ledge". He was tracked down by Creation's Tim Abbot and during a trip by the pair to Las Vegas, Noel decided to continue with the band. He reconciled with his brother and the tour resumed in Minneapolis.

Britpop and the height of fame

Gallagher followed up the debut in 1995 with Oasis' first UK No.1 single in "Some Might Say". This preceded their second album, ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'', released later that year. Though it suffered initial critical apathy, the album became the second fastest-selling album ever in the UK, entering the UK album charts at No.1 and peaking at No.4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

The success of Oasis and his newfound fame and fortune were not lost on Gallagher, and both he and his brother became famous for their "rock and roll lifestyle". They drank heavily, abused drugs, fought fans, critics, peers, and each other, and made celebrity friends such as Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Mani, Mick Jagger, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp. Noel Gallagher spent extravagantly, buying various cars and a swimming pool, despite the fact he can neither drive, nor swim. He named his house in Belsize Park in London "Supernova Heights" (after the song "Champagne Supernova"), and his two cats "Benson" and "Hedges" after his favourite brand of cigarettes.

Oasis went on to have greater success with their next two singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" charting at No.2 and No.1 respectively; the former becoming their sole top 10 hit in the US. Originally, Noel had wanted to take lead vocals on "Wonderwall", but Liam insisted on singing it. As compensation, Noel decided he would sing lead vocals on "Don't Look Back in Anger". 1995 also saw Gallagher play two songs for the charity album ''Help!'': "Fade Away", accompanied by friend and Oasis fan Johnny Depp and Depp's then-girlfriend Kate Moss; and The Beatles' 1969 hit "Come Together", along with Paul Weller, Paul McCartney and others in a supergroup called Smokin' Mojo Filters. Noel has also collaborated with the Chemical Brothers, Ian Brown, The Stands, The Prodigy and Weller, amongst others. Gallagher became so influential that a June 1996 ''NME'' article argued that "If Noel Gallagher, the most successful songwriter of his generation, champions a group, then said group are guaranteed more mainstream kudos and, quite possibly, more sales. And since Noel has taken to championing only five or six groups, then it's a powerful cabal he's promoting."

In March 1996, Noel and Liam Gallagher met their father again when the ''News of the World'' paid him to go to their hotel during a tour. Noel left for his room, later commenting "as far as I'm concerned, I haven't got a father. He's not a father to me, y'know? I don't respect him in any way whatsoever". Also in 1996, Oasis sold out two nights at Knebworth, playing to over 250,000 fans. Following the worldwide success of ''Morning Glory?'', ''Be Here Now'' (1997) became Oasis' most eagerly anticipated album to date. As with the previous two albums, all the tracks were written by Noel. After an initial blaze of publicity, positive critical reviews, and commercial success, the album failed to live up to long-term expectations, and public goodwill towards ''Be Here Now'' was short-lived. The album was ultimately regarded by many as a bloated, over-indulgent version of Oasis, which Gallagher has since blamed on the drug-addicted state and indifference of the band at the time.

Gallagher began to suffer drug-induced panic attacks during this period. His depressed, paranoid state inspired the song "Gas Panic!", subsequently included on the 2000 album ''Standing on the Shoulder of Giants''. Gallagher has claimed to have quit using illicit drugs on 5 June 1998. He stated in 2001, "I liked drugs, I was good at them. But I'd had panic attacks for about a year and I stopped because I wanted to. After you make the decision, it is quite easy." Between 1993 and 1998, he claims, "I can hardly remember a thing."

Post-Britpop years

After the hype surrounding the release of ''Be Here Now'' had started to wane, critical response to the band became calmer and more considered, leading to a media backlash. In 1997, Noel was criticised for attending a high-profile and well-publicised media party at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the newly-appointed Prime Minister, Tony Blair, along with other celebrities and industry figures who had supported New Labour in the run-up to the general election. Both brother Liam and Blur's Damon Albarn declined their invitations, with Albarn commenting "Enjoy the schmooze, comrade." The perception of Gallagher as someone now mixing with politicians—or, in particular, a famous photograph of him sipping champagne with Blair—conflicted with the "working class hero" status championed through songs such as "Up in the Sky".

In 1999, rhythm guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs quit the band, with bassist Paul McGuigan following soon afterwards. As a result, the fourth studio album, ''Standing on the Shoulder of Giants'', was recorded by just the Gallaghers and drummer Alan White, with Noel playing all guitar parts. Gallagher commented on Bonehead's departure, "It's hardly Paul McCartney leaving the Beatles, is it?". After the recording sessions were completed, Gallagher selected Gem Archer to join in place of Bonehead.

Later that year Alan McGee decided to leave Creation and sold the rest of his 51% stake in the label to Sony. Gallagher took this opportunity to set up Big Brother Recordings, which took over Oasis' distribution in the UK, but Sony imprint Epic Records continues to handle the band's international distribution. Around the time of the album's release, Andy Bell, formerly of Ride, joined the band as bassist. In 2001, Gallagher formed his own label, Sour Mash Records, which released records by the likes of Shack and Proud Mary. The incorporation of the label followed Gallagher's debut as a producer, working with Proud Mary on their debut, ''The Same Old Blues''.

In late 2006, Gallagher toured the UK, Europe, Japan, America and Australia in a series of acclaimed intimate semi-acoustic gigs accompanied by Gem Archer and Terry Kirkbride on percussion. The show proved successful and a further series of sets took place in 2007. March 2007 saw Gallagher perform in Moscow—the first time an Oasis member has performed in Russia. Yet Gallagher dismissed claims that he was planning to embark on a solo career. In early 2007, Gallagher joined the rest of Oasis to collect the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" Award at the Brit Awards 2007.

Noel, along with the band recorded their seventh studio album between 2007 and the next year in Abbey Road Studios and Los Angeles, and started at the end of the summer of 2008 a tour that will last at least 12 months.

In March 2009, ''The Times'' in conjunction with iTunes released a selection of live recordings by Noel Gallagher taken from his semi-acoustic performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 March 2007 in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. ''The Dreams We Have as Children'' features classic and rare tracks from the Oasis canon along with several cover versions of some of Noel's favourite artists.

Departure from the band

On 28 August 2009 Noel quit Oasis after a fight with his brother, Liam Gallagher. A little before midnight on Friday he posted a statement on his message board called "Tales from the Middle of Nowhere" on the band's website announcing his departure.

Post-Oasis

Solo performances

Noel's first concerts without Oasis were announced on 1 February 2010 to be at London's Royal Albert Hall on 25 and 26 March 2010 for Teenage Cancer Trust . Noel was supported by The Courteeners and Plan B respectively. Terry Kirkbride and Gem Archer joined him on-stage, as did Jay Darlington, all of whom Gallagher had previously worked with while he was still a member of Oasis. He played a mostly acoustic set, and played a variety of Oasis album tracks and B-sides. It was almost the same set he played at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007. Noel also joined friend Paul Weller onstage in London on 21 April 2010, and played the Oasis song "Mucky Fingers" and a song he co wrote with Weller, "Echoes Round the Sun".

Returning to the studio

Noel confirmed that he would be returning to the studio in August 2010 to record drums for another unnamed artist. Paul Weller subsequently confirmed in an interview with Absolute Radio that he was the previously unnamed artist who would be using Noel's drumming services. He also denied rumours that he would be the Best Man for Russell Brand's marriage to Katy Perry. In August, it was mentioned on a UK Music blog, Sourmash Music, that Noel has been working with Liverpool's own The Sand Band. Lead singer David McDonnell has been co-writing with Noel and are looking to collaborate on future solo projects together.

On 24 November 2010, Miles Kane revealed that Noel sings on a track from his debut solo album entitled ''My Fantasy''. He also revealed that he will appear on Noel's forthcoming album, playing guitar.

On 10 February 2011, Noel stated he has "not even started" his first solo record, despite Liam rumouring that he 'swiped' material from the Dig Out Your Soul sessions. "I am not recording new stuff, not just yet," Noel said to Talksport. "It'll be out when it's finished I guess. Well I've not even started it, so I don't know."

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

On 6 July 2011, Noel held a press conference in London during which he announced that Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will release a self-titled album on 17 October 2011, and the second being a collaboration album with Amorphous Androgynous would be released in 2012. He also announced that he would be going on tour, debuting in Dublin on 23 October 2011. The touring band for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds includes David McDonnell (guitar), Russell Pritchard (bass), Mikey Rowe (keyboards) and Jeremy Stacey (drums). On 20 July 2011, Noel released a 47 second trailer of his first single "The Death of You and Me". The video for the debut single was released on 25 July at 8:21 am (GMT).

Personal life

Relationships

At the age of 18, Gallagher became engaged to his then-girlfriend Diane, but they never married and eventually separated. In 1988, he moved out of his family home to live with Louise Jones, whom he described as his "soulmate" and for whom he wrote "Slide Away". They had an on-again, off-again relationship before finally separating in June 1994, with Gallagher stating, "I don’t think I’ll ever get over it."

In June 1997, Gallagher married Meg Mathews in Las Vegas, Nevada. He'd met her in 1994 through her roommate, MTV presenter Rebecca de Ruvo, whom he was dating at the time and whom he left for Mathews. Mathews gave birth to a daughter, Anaïs Gallagher, on 27 January 2000. Gallagher and Mathews divorced in January 2001 on grounds of his adultery with Scottish publicist Sara MacDonald. After the divorce was finalised, Gallagher claimed he had only admitted to cheating in order to speed up the divorce process and that he had never actually been unfaithful.

Since his separation from Mathews, Gallagher has been in a relationship with MacDonald, whom he met at club Space on Ibiza in June 2000. He wrote "Waiting for the Rapture" about their meeting. They have two sons, Donovan Rory MacDonald Gallagher (born 22 September 2007) and Sonny Patrick MacDonald Gallagher (born 1 October 2010). Gallagher and MacDonald were married on 18 June 2011 in a private ceremony at the Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest National Park.

Other

He was a frequent guest on The Russell Brand Show on BBC Radio 2, appearing on almost every show, leading Brand to dub him an unofficial "Co presenter". He is also a regular on the digital radio sports show, "TalkSPORT" Other notable friends of his are, Mani of Primal Scream, Richard Ashcroft of The Verve – for whom he dedicated a song, "Cast No Shadow", the band members of the Chemical Brothers, - Sex Pistols members John Lydon and Steve Jones the members of the rock band Kasabian, Andy Nicholson, boxer Ricky Hatton, Paul McCartney, Liverpool F.C footballer Jamie Carragher, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Johnny Marr, Paul Weller, Ian Brown, Kelly Jones and Johnny Depp (who played slide guitar on the Oasis song Fade In-Out). He was also good friends with Kate Moss who used to stay with him when she was visiting London. In 2001 he was reported to have an estimated personal fortune of £25 million. In 2009 The Sunday Times Rich List estimated Noel and Liam's combined personal fortune at £52 million.

Gallagher is a fan of football, being a well-known supporter of Manchester City F.C. He is a friend of former City midfielder Joey Barton, as well as Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero, who described Gallagher as Italy's "lucky mascot" during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and appears in the Oasis video "Lord Don't Slow Me Down". Gallagher was an official ambassador for England's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Gallagher stated in a 2006 radio interview with Russell Brand that he does not believe in God or "an all-guiding force." Although Gallagher isn't very religious, throughout his career many of his songs mention God; (''Carry Us All'', ''Gas Panic!'', ''The Hindu Times'', ''Little by Little'', to name four) and all the tracks he had contributed to ''Dig Out Your Soul'', as well as the other band mates' songs, have lyrics and references to God and other biblical terms. The entire record has been described by Noel as a "religious Armageddon". But in recent interviews for ''Dig Out Your Soul'' regarding religion, Noel stated "See, I don't know what I am. If I was an atheist I'd just write songs about not believing in God – but I don't know what I am."

In 2008 it was announced that Gallagher would sell his home in Ibiza located near fellow musician James Blunt's, saying while in Los Angeles on the Russell Brand BBC Radio 2 show that he "Can't stand living there in the knowledge that Blunt is nearby making terrible music."

Songwriting and musicianship

Noel Gallagher was the primary songwriter in Oasis, and on the group's first few albums he was the sole songwriting contributor. Gallagher is often criticised for the praise he gives to his own songs. He points out "If you'd written 'Live Forever', you'd be walking to a different tune the next day too." Gallagher has often been accused by critics of plagiarising the music of his heroes, but he has maintained outright homages in his music are his intention. In a 1996 ''Guitar World'' interview, he described himself as "a fan who writes songs" and stated, "I'm not saying, 'I'm the greatest songwriter in the world. Listen to me.' Usually, I'm saying, '''These'' are the greatest songwriters in the world. And I'm gonna put them all in this song"'. His response to critics about the topic of "blatantly pinching riffs" was, "No, I don't feel guilty. But you feel pissed off because you didn't do it first."

Though naturally left-handed, Gallagher plays guitar right-handed, which he claims is the only thing he can do with his non-dominant hand. Noel has said he sometimes does not understand his own lyrics, commenting in 2005 that "when I'm halfway through 'Don't Look Back in Anger' I say to myself. 'I still don't know what these words mean!'"

Changing band dynamic

Gallagher's role as chief songwriter for Oasis changed over time as he allowed a greater level of lyrical input from the other band members. ''Standing on the Shoulder of Giants'' included Oasis' first ever album track written by Liam Gallagher. ''Heathen Chemistry'' included a further three tracks by Liam (including the single "Songbird"), one by Archer and one by Andy Bell. ''Don't Believe the Truth'' featured another three tracks by Liam (though one of them, "Love Like a Bomb" was co-written with Archer), one from Archer, and two from Bell. The latter two albums have been greeted with increasing critical and commercial success in the U.K., particularly ''Don't Believe the Truth''. Yet the second single from ''Don't Believe the Truth'', "The Importance of Being Idle" became the second Noel-sung Oasis track to top the UK charts and was named 2005's finest track by ''Q'' magazine, as well as being nominated for the ''NME'''s "Best Song of 2005" award. However, on the last Oasis albums, Noel's increasing role as lead singer, apparently to compensate for his diminished role as songwriter, caused some tension with Liam.

Zak Starkey, son of former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and previous drummer for Gallagher's heroes The Who and Johnny Marr, replaced long-time drummer Alan White during the recording sessions for ''Don't Believe the Truth''. The loss of White prompted Gallagher to comment, in a 2005 interview, that he puts Oasis' trouble with drummers, in part, to the fact that he is himself a talented drummer, saying "I get a lot of stick for it, but I'm the best drummer in the group."

Controversy

Gallagher is well known for his controversial, outspoken statements in the press; he acknowledged his tendency for ''faux pas'' in the song "My Big Mouth" on the album ''Be Here Now''. Yet Gallagher has defended himself, saying "people think [I'm] controversial for the answers [I] give to silly questions in interviews, but ... I'm not thinking about insulting ... people; I say what I genuinely feel is in my heart. My conscience is clean, d'you know what I mean? Y'know, I'm true to myself—fuck everybody else." His opinions have earned him an "elder statesman" reputation, with ''NME'' dubbing him "The wisest man in rock".

Damon Albarn and Blur

The most infamous of Gallagher's controversial statements was in a 1995 interview with ''The Observer'', where he expressed a wish for Damon Albarn and Alex James of rivals Blur to "catch AIDS and die", a comment which he quickly apologised publicly for, and stated that "AIDS is no laughing matter." This statement was preceded by the success of ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'', which led to a well-documented feud with fellow Britpop band Blur. The differing styles of the bands, coupled with their prominence within the Britpop movement, led the British media to seize upon the rivalry between the bands. Both factions played along, with the Gallaghers taunting Blur at the 1996 BRIT Awards by singing a rendition of "Parklife" when they collected their "Best British Band" award (with Liam changing the lyrics to "Shite-life").

Gallagher maintains that the rivalry was conceived by the magazine ''NME'' and members of Blur's entourage as a ploy to raise their respective profiles, and that since this point he has had no respect for either party. However, Albarn has suggested the roots of the feud were much more personal. By 2007, the tension between the two had cooled, and in an ''NME'' interview, Gallagher said "I've got a lot of respect for Damon, I really do mean it. Because I'm indifferent to Damon he thinks that I think he's a cunt. Our Liam will talk to him, I won't because he's just another singer in a band to me, but I don't think he's a cunt. Good luck to him!"

Liam Gallagher

The Gallagher brothers famously share a turbulent relationship; one of their arguments was even released on a 1995 bootleg single entitled ''Wibbling Rivalry''. Although in recent years their relationship had stabilised, during the band's early career there were a handful of incidents where the two have actually come to blows. In an L.A. show during their first American tour in 1994, Liam took to changing the words of the songs so that they were offensive to both Americans and Noel. A confrontation after the show which led to a chair being thrown and a brawl caused Noel to leave the tour and head for Las Vegas; Noel later claimed he had "visions of ''Fear and Loathing'' flashing in [his] eyes". During recording sessions for the second Oasis album, ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'', the brothers had a violent fight involving a cricket bat, when Liam invited everyone from a local pub back into the studio while Noel was trying to work. Noel took hold of the bat and whacked Liam over the head with it. The fight ended with Noel breaking Liam's foot. In 1996, Noel provided lead vocals at a performance for ''MTV Unplugged'' when Liam backed out minutes before the set was due to start. Liam claimed to have been struck down with a "sore throat"; the band later found out that Liam did not like performing acoustically. Noel was further angered when Liam proceeded to heckle him from the balcony and nurse his "sore throat" with beer and cigarettes while the band performed. Just before the band were about to board a plane to the United States for their crucial make-or-break US tour, Liam left the airport, claiming he had to find a house for his then-wife Patsy Kensit. He later joined the band for their last few gigs and the infamous MTV Awards performance; the remaining dates were scrapped. The band's future was tabloid daily news.

While on tour in Barcelona in 2000, Oasis were forced to cancel a gig when Alan White's arm seized up, and the band spent the night drinking instead. Liam made a derogatory comment about Noel's then-wife Meg Mathews, and attempted to cast doubt over the legitimacy of Noel's daughter Anais, causing a scuffle. Following this, Noel declared he was quitting overseas touring, but returned for an Oasis gig in Dublin on 8 July 2000. During the performance, the two brothers shook hands at the end of "Acquiesce".

However, the relationship between the two brothers had become strained throughout 2009, leading eventually to a last minute cancellation of an Oasis concert scheduled to take place on 28 August 2009 in Paris, due to an "altercation within the group." Later that evening, Noel confirmed he had left Oasis as he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer." Through the Oasis website, Noel said "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight". On 29 August, Noel expanded further on his blog, stating "the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable. And the lack of support and understanding from my management and band mates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new."

Glastonbury

Noel Gallagher blasted the organizers of the 2008 Glastonbury Festival for scheduling Jay-Z as a headliner for the traditionally guitar-driven festival:

"If it ain't broke don't fix it. If you start to break it then people aren't going to go. I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curve ball in on a Sunday night you go 'Kylie Minogue?' I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong."'''

Emily Eavis, the organiser of England's famed Glastonbury music festival, said she was honoured U.S. hip-hop artist Jay-Z was headlining the event saying: "He is absolutely the right act for our festival," she said. "There is no reason why we should not have the greatest living hip-hop artist on at Glastonbury." Eavis also cited that Jay-Z was far from the first hip-hop artist to appear at Glastonbury. The Roots, Cypress Hill, and De La Soul had all previously performed at the Glastonbury Festival.

Jay-Z responded to this controversy saying the following:

"We don't play guitars, Noel, but hip-hop has put in its work like any other form of music. This headline show is just a natural progression. Rap music is still evolving. From Afrika Bambaataa DJ-ing in the Bronx and Run DMC going platinum, to Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince winning the first rap Grammy, I'm just next in the line. We have to respect each other's genre of music and move forward."

Jay-Z opened his set at Glastonbury 2008 with a cover of Oasis' song "Wonderwall". When Gallagher was asked about the incident he replied "The way it's played itself out is that I said Jay-Z had no right to play Glastonbury, which is a crock of horseshit. I got off a plane and someone asked me about the fact that Glastonbury hadn't sold out for the first time in years, and if it was because of Jay-Z. From there it grew into this crap that I was standing on an orange crate at Speakers' Corner saying, 'Gather round, brothers and sisters. Have you heard what's happening at Glastonbury this year?' I have a certain turn of phrase. So if I say, "Chicken sandwiches in McDonald's are just plain fucking wrong," it doesn't mean I'm attacking all chickens or all sandwiches. I've hung out with Jay-Z in Tokyo. I've seen his show. It's not my bag, but it's all right. We have a mutual friend in Chris Martin. So I am a guy who doesn't like hip-hop—shock, horror. I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when rap was inspirational. Public Enemy were awesome. But it's all about status and bling now, and it doesn't say anything to me." When Jay Z was asked about Gallagher's comments he said "I haven't spoken to him [Gallagher], I heard he was reaching out. I don't bear any grudge, it's all good. I just believe in good music and bad music, I've always said that. You look at any interview from the beginning of time, I've always stated that I don't believe in the lines and classifications that people put music in so they can easily define it". When asked who he would be interested in collaborating with in the future, the rapper said, "Anyone. Oasis as well – it doesn't matter to me."

Politics

Noel has spoken out about his political views on several occasions, most notably when he visited Tony Blair at No. 10 Downing Street in 1997. In an interview in 1997 when he was asked about why he visited Blair he replied, "I've taken a lot of flack for going to No. 10 Downing Street but the thing about that is, I never considered myself a rebel anyway. I wasn't going there representing the 'Indie community'. I wasn't representing anyone. I was going there for me. You have to understand that from when I went to school and from when I was born all we ever knew was conservative, Tory, right-wing government. What people don't mention is, they say 'He went to meet Tony Blair.' No. I went to meet the LABOUR prime minister. Our parents always drummed into us that the Labour Party was for the people and the Tory Party was not. I went to meet the Labour prime minister. Full stop."

In an interview in 2007 when asked about politics he said, "I'd been unemployed all my life. It was a big deal for me when he [Tony Blair] got in. Now David Cameron is no different than our Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is no different than our David Cameron. They're all cut from the same cloth and it annoys me that the biggest political icon in the last 30 years has been Margaret Thatcher, and she's a dick. Someone who tried to destroy the working class. It freaks me out. So I don't really think there's anything left to vote for. I believe that I, as a person, can only change things once every 5 years and that's by voting, and my point is that even casting that vote means that the same guy gets in, the only difference is one has a red tie and the other has a blue one. That's all it means, so I think that I should start the Gallagher Party."

He was open in his support for Barack Obama's successful bid for U.S. President, calling his acceptance speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention "spellbinding."

In 1997 he played a 5 song set at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in NYC. As a result Oasis have been deemed "unsuitable" by the Chinese government, forcing a planned tour of the country in 2009 to be cancelled.

He has also been very vocal about knife crime. He said to one journalist, "It all goes back to the Thatcher Years. I know it's a cliché to say it but that's where the rot set in. If you go up north to any city there are rows and rows and rows of derelict houses. They can't even afford to knock them down and build something new, and that's where it all starts, if kids haven't got anything what are they supposed to do?"

When the interviewer suggested it was for status he replied, "In my day status was about trying to be somebody, not trying to kill somebody, so how's that all changed?"

Speaking out about the August 2011 riots that took place in England, Gallagher claimed that violent video games and television shows which children were being exposed to were partially to blame for social problems.

Musical equipment

Throughout his career Gallagher has used a wide range of different guitars, effect pedals and amplifers from his large collection.

Guitars

;Electric guitars

Epiphone Supernova – Gallagher's signature model combines features from Noel's most frequently used guitars over the years, including various Gibson and Epiphone semi acoustics. The most notable reference is the union jack paintjob, which echoes his custom-painted Epiphone Sheraton that he used at Maine Road in 1996. The model originally put out on the market for sale differs from the actual guitar that Gallagher uses. The line of guitars feature humbuckers and a stop-bar tailpiece, whereas Gallagher's actual guitar features mini-humbuckers and a frequensator tailpiece.

Epiphone Riviera – Gallagher has several in different finishes. A wine red model was Noel's main guitar for (What's The Story) Morning Glory tour and seen in the promotional videos for "Don't Look Back in Anger", "Roll with It", "Morning Glory" and "Champagne Supernova".

Epiphone Sheraton – Gallager owns several, one of which with the Union Jack graphics. Noel also used Sunburst and Wine Red models on the Be Here Now tour- one sunburst model even gained a Manchester City F.C. sticker on the pickguard. This guitar was used a lot during 1997–98.

Fender Telecaster – Gallagher uses several including one with pink paisley graphics. A white telecaster was given to Noel by Johnny Depp as a birthday present.

Rickenbacker 330 – Gallagher owns several including one previously owned by Paul Weller. Weller famously used this guitar when he performed Town Called Malice with his former band The Jam on Top of the Pops in 1982. It was given to Noel as a 30th Birthday Present by Weller.

Epiphone Les Paul – This was Gallagher's main guitar in Oasis' early days as seen in the UK promotional video for Supersonic.

Gibson Les Paul – Gallagher has owned several. This and the Gibson ES-355 (see below) are his main guitars for gigs. He owns a black Les Paul given to him by Johnny Marr.

Gibson Silver Florentine – Semi-hollow version of the Les Paul Custom. Noel's main guitar on part of the Be Here Now Tour (along with the Epiphone Sheraton). This guitar is no longer in his possession and was recently sold on eBay.

Gibson Firebird Non-Reverse – One of which is fitted with Bill Puplett Custom pick-ups. Used in numerous recordings including 'Morning Glory' and used on 'Top Of The Pops' for a performance of 'Rock n' Roll Star'. It's also seen in the 'Live Forever' US promotional video. This guitar was recently sold on Rockstars Guitars. Another Non-Reverse firebird with 3 stock pick-ups featured in the 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' promotional video.

Gibson ES-355 – Since 2002 this model has been Gallagher's main guitar for the majority of live performances.

Fender Jaguar – Noel is pictured using a blue Fender Jaguar in the promotional shots for the album Be Here Now. However there is no evidence that he used this guitar in the studio or live.

Gibson ES-345- Used in the studio and as a backup guitar on recent tours.

Epiphone Casino – Used by Noel on the Be Here Now Tour and in the studio. Seen in the Promotional video for Sunday Morning Call. Noel also used a casino with a natural finish (presumably a nod to John Lennon's famous 'stripped' casino), during the recording of Dig Out Your Soul. Noel can be seen using this guitar in the 'Gold and Silver and Sunshine' film from the Dig out your soul DVD.

Gibson Trini Lopez As seen in the promotional videos of The Hindu Times and Lyla, also used at Oasis's Glastonbury 2004 performance

Gibson Flying V Used for a short time around 1997–98, can be seen in the promotional video for D'You Know What I Mean?

Gibson ES-335 Used on the Track ''The Girl In The Dirty Shirt'' and various other studio recordings.

Gibson SG Gallagher isn't often seen with one, however he played a cherry red SG with a maestro tremolo at the Fuji Rock Festivalin 2009.

;Acoustic guitars Gallagher has two different Gibson J-200 standards that he plays as his main stage acoustics. One, used during live performances, has an Adidas sticker just above the neck joint and classic Gibson 'crown'-type fret markers. This guitar has a retrofitted soundhole single-coil pick-up. Gallagher's second SJ-200 is slightly different; rather than the 'crown' fret markers, it has "M"-shaped inlays. The second instrument has a similar pick-up to the first, but is different in that it has a brown, rounded pickguard- rather than the J-200's usual floral, unusually shaped one. Perhaps most notably, this guitar was used for portions of Gallagher's solo tour, which culminated in a recorded concert in Paris on 28 November 2006. Gallagher also owns a wide array of vintage Gibson and Martin guitars. On "Dig Out Your Soul," for instance, he played a 1970 Martin D-28. Other acoustics known to have been employed either in the studio or on-stage are a Takamine EF-325SRC, a Takamine FD −460SC, Takamine EG 335 12-string and a Takamine NV360S.:

In the beginning of Oasis, before Gallagher had his Gibson SJ-200s, he extensively played an Epiphone EJ-200, which can be seen in both the Wonderwall video and the live performance of "Talk Tonight" with Paul Weller. It's also the guitar he holds on the cover of Definitely Maybe and is seen on the cover of the Cigarettes and Alcohol single.

Effect pedals

In the early days of Oasis, Gallagher's effect setup was quite limited: he used a Boss delay pedal and a Roland Space Echo. By 2002, in contrast, his pedal board had ballooned to include a large array of stomp boxes as well as a large MIDI controller. Following is a list of all the guitar effects known to have been used from 1994 to 2009:

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

Pete Cornish SS-2 Fuzz

THD Hot Plate Power Attenuator

Roland Space Echo

Maxon AD-80

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

Boss DD-5 Digital Delay

Boss DD-6 Digital Delay (Analog Man modified)

Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter

Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer

Boss AB-2 2-Way Selector

Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner

Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere

Boss AC-2 and AC-3 Acoustic Simulator

Way Huge Aqua-Puss

Dunlop Cry Baby

Various Vox Wah pedals

Boss RV-3 and RV-5 Digital Reverb

Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan

SIB Echodrive

Boss LS-2 Line Selector

Analog Man King of Tone

Danelectro Dan-Echo

Boss HR-2 Harmonist

Boss SD-2 DUAL OverDrive

Crowther HotCake

DigiTech Whammy

Z.Vex Lo-Fi Loop Junky

Boss SL-20 Slicer [At the very end of the left side of his pedal board]

Amplification

Gallagher is well known for his changing amplification preferences. During the band's early days and the recording of its seminal album ''Definitely Maybe'', Gallagher utilised a Marshall Valvestate 8080 solid-state combo run through an overdriven Vox AC30. When the band first appeared on television, the Vox had been replaced with a WEM Dominator 25-watt tube combo, special gold edition. By the time Oasis toured behind the album, however, the recording setup had been abandoned in favour of a 100-watt Marshall "NBs-On" JCM900 head and one or two matching 4x12 cabinets. Following the release of ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'', Gallagher appeared with various amplifiers. Some sources indicate that he used a pair of Orange Overdrive 120 heads with four matching 4x12 cabinets, but photographs from this period clearly show him playing through a JCM900 stack, in this tour, in 1995–1996 he uses also two Laney combo: lc30 and lc50 as we can see in the DVD "...There and Then".

From 2000 onwards, however, Gallagher's setup has remained more or less intact in that it has revolved around the entrance of the 15-watt Fender Blues Junior. At one point he ran a pair of Blues Juniors into Marshall 4x12 cabinets loaded with Celestion G-12s. Other amps to have made appearances in his rig during this period are the Clark Beaufort Combo and the Clark Tyger Combo. Also present in his quite substantial rig were a vintage Vox AC50 head, and an unidentified Orange head which could very well be another Overdrive 120. During the "Don't Believe The Truth" tour he used a Fender Bassman head and matching cabinet with the two 4x12 Marshall cabs driven by a Blues Junior and the Vox AC50 Head. By 2008, Gallagher's rig had evolved again: a single Blues Junior coupled with three 2x12 Vertical Custom Hiwatt 100 combos. At the iTunes Festival at Camden Roundhouse, the rig had changed again; Gallagher had replaced one of the 2x12 Hiwatt combos with a Hiwatt amplifier head and matching 2x12 cabinet.

Discography

1994: ''Definitely Maybe''

1995: ''(What's The Story) Morning Glory?''

1997: ''Be Here Now''

1998: ''The Masterplan'' (Compilation of B-sides)

2000: ''Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants''

2000: ''Familiar To Millions'' (Live album recorded at Wembley Stadium)

2002: ''Heathen Chemistry''

2005: ''Don't Believe The Truth''

2008: ''Dig Out Your Soul''

Albums

2009: ''The Dreams We Have as Children - Live at the Royal Albert Hall''

2011: ''Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds''

2012: TBA (collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous)

Also featured on:-

1995: Stanley Road by Paul Weller, acoustic guitar on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters"

1997: Dig Your Own Hole by The Chemical Brothers, vocals on "Setting Sun"

1998: Saturnzreturn by Goldie, guitar on "Temper Temper"

1998: The X-Files: The Album, the track "Teotihuacan"

1999: Surrender by The Chemical Brothers, vocals on "Let Forever Be"

2000: Tailgunner by Tailgunner, drums

2000: The Same Old Blues by Proud Mary, production, plus additional vocals, guitars, bass and percussion

2002: Illumination by Paul Weller, drums, percussion & bass on "One X One"

2003 (Recorded in 2000): Live at the Royal Albert Hall by The Who, guitar, backing vocals on "Won't Get Fooled Again"

2004: Solarized by Ian Brown: collaboration on the song "Keep What Ya Got".

2004: All Years Leaving by The Stands, guitar on "Some Weekend Night"

2008: 22 Dreams by Paul Weller, bass, piano, mellotron and wurlitzer on "Echoes Round The Sun"

2011: Colour of the Trap by Miles Kane, backing vocals on "My Fantasy"

Charted songs

! Year	! Title	!style="width:3.5em;font-size:75%;"	!style="width:3.5em;font-size:75%;"	!style="width:3.5em;font-size:75%;"	! Album
1997	"Setting Sun"			style="text-align:center;"
1998	"Temper Temper"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
1999	"Let Forever Be"		style="text-align:center;"
	style="text-align:center;"
2004	"Keep What Ya Got"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
	"Don't Look Back in Anger"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"
"Talk Tonight"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
"Cast No Shadow"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
"(It's Good) To Be Free"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"
2011	"The Death of You and Me"		style="text-align:center;"
style="text-align:center;"

Other

2011, ''Well... All Right!'' (compilation album compiled by Gallagher. Released covermount into Mojo (magazine).

References

Further reading

Gallagher, Paul; Christian, Terry. ''Brothers, From Childhood to Oasis'' (Virgin Books)

Harris, John. ''Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock''. Da Capo Press, 2004. ISBN 0-306-81367-X

Hewitt, Paolo. ''Getting High: The Adventures of Oasis'' (Boxtree Press)

Mathur, Paul. ''Take Me There: The Story Of Oasis'' (Bloomsbury Publishing PLC)

Middles, Mick. ''Oasis: Round Their Way'' (Independent Music Press)

Moody, P. ''Oasis: Lost Inside'' (UFO Music Ltd)

Robertson, I. ''Oasis: What's The Story?'' (Blake Books)

Wheeler, J. ''Oasis: How Does It Feel?'' (UFO Books Ltd)

Williams, J. & Cook J. ''Oasis member attacked on stage'' (Canoe.ca)

External links

The Official Noel Gallagher Website

Noel Gallagher on Facebook

Noel Gallagher on Twitter

Noel Gallagher on YouTube

Noel Gallagher on SoundCLoud

Noel Gallagher on MySpace

Category:1967 births Category:English male singers Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English rock guitarists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Lead guitarists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:Oasis (band) members Category:People from Burnage Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Road crew

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Tom Joyner
birth date	November 23, 1949
birth place	Tuskegee, Alabama
show	The Tom Joyner Morning Show
network	Citadel Media
style	Comedy, Talk, Urban Adult Contemporary, R&B/Soul
country	United States
spouse(s)	Donna Richardson-JoynerDora Chatmon Joyner (divorced)
children	Thomas Jr.Oscar
website	}}

Thomas "Tom" Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American radio host, host of the nationally syndicated ''The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of REACH Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Early life

Joyner was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, and received a degree in sociology from Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). While a student at Tuskegee Joyner joined the fraternity Omega Psi Phi.

Radio career

He began his broadcasting career in Montgomery, Alabama immediately upon graduation, and worked at a number of radio stations in the American South, before moving to Chicago at WJPC (AM) (now WNTD).

In the mid-1980s, Joyner was simultaneously offered two positions: one for a morning show at KKDA-FM (K104) in Dallas and one for an afternoon show at WGCI-FM in Chicago. Instead of choosing between the two, Joyner chose to take both jobs, and for years he commuted daily by plane between the two cities, earning the nicknames "The Fly Jock" and "The Hardest Working Man in Radio." He later told ''Radio Ink'' magazine that he racked up 7 million frequent flyer miles over the course of his employment at both stations

In 1994, Joyner was signed by ABC Radio Networks to host a nationally-syndicated program, ''The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', featuring Joyner and a team of comedians and commentators reporting and discussing the latest news and sports of the day, and playing popular R&B songs from the 1970s through the 1990s as well as contemporary R&B hits. Also featured are celebrity guests, on-site remotes (called "Sky Shows"), and an on-air soap opera, ''It’s Your World'' which is currently not aired. Southwest Airlines is a prominent sponsor of the radio show, especially Joyner's "Sky Shows," and free round-trip airfare to any destination that Southwest flies to is a recurring giveaway on his show.

''The Tom Joyner Show''

In 2005, a nationally syndicated television show, ''The Tom Joyner Show'', was launched with Joyner as emcee of a one-hour comedy/variety show, combining sketch comedy featuring the Tom Joyner Show Players (his co-hosts from the radio show), talent contests, and musical performances by such artists as Earth, Wind and Fire, Brian McKnight, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Toni Braxton. The show attracted advertisers such as McDonalds, Chrysler Corporation, WalMart and Southwest Airlines.

While the program achieved top ratings for a weekly syndicated program themed to African American viewers — even taking the number one show position, although it was in a late night time slot — in such markets as New York and Atlanta, affiliates in other markets were reluctant to upgrade the show to prime time for a targeted audience. Without the opportunity to reach a larger audience in earlier time slots and achieve greater revenues, the show had limited ability to offset the residuals and music clearances required by the many performers appearing on the show. Despite award recognition, in May 2006, Joyner decided not to continue due to production costs related to the music variety show concept. Re-runs are shown on TV One cable channel.

Books and other media

In 2005 Warner Books published "''I'm Just a DJ but ... It Makes Sense to Me''" written with his longtime writer, Mary Flowers Boyce. The book chronicles his childhood and early days in radio as well as offers Joyner's thoughts on Historically Black Colleges and Universities ("HBCUs"), the power of the black consumer and fatherhood. In February 2009, Amber Books published ''Tom Joyner Presents How to Prepare for College'', a primer for parents and their children offering specific suggests and advice. The book features a foreword written by Joyner with writers Wil and Thomas LaVeist.

He appeared with his father and grandfather in the documentary "''Rising from the Rails: The Story of the Pullman Porter''" crediting his family with passing down important values which he passed down to his sons as well. His grandfather Oscar "Doc" Joyner was a Pullman porter who became a medical doctor.

Tom Joyner has had cameo roles in two films-''The Gospel'' (2005) and ''Madea Goes to Jail'' (2009). He also had another television show, ''The Tom Joyner Sky Show'' (2003), and has appeared on many other television programs.

Personal life

With his first wife Dora, Tom is the father of two sons, Thomas Jr. and Oscar, whom he calls "Killer" and "Thriller". He is currently married to celebrity aerobics instructor/fitness expert Donna Richardson.

Philanthropy

Joyner has been an advocate for voter registration and throughout the year promotes voter registration over the air, on his website and during his live 'Sky Shows' broadcasts. To improve healthy living, Joyner holds a 'Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day' every April or September. On that day, he rallies families and friends to go to the doctor to get a check up to prevent any health problems, and particularly treat any existing issues.

Joyner is participating in the 2011 Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's™ to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's research, care and support.

Tom Joyner Foundation

Joyner has also founded The Tom Joyner Foundation to provide financial assistance to students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Since 1998, it has raised more than $55 million to help keep students enrolled at HBCUs. The Tom Joyner Foundation also hosts an annual cruise named the Fantasic Voyage which also raises money for HBCU's.

Awards

On October 7, 2004, Joyner was awarded the NAB Marconi Radio Award.

In 1998, Joyner was the first African American to be inducted into The National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago, Illinois.

Joyner was inducted in the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site on January 12, 2008.

References

External links

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/

USA Today Q&A

http://forums.tomjoyner.com/

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American radio personalities Category:Radio personalities from Chicago, Illinois Category:Radio personalities from Dallas, Texas Category:Tuskegee University alumni Category:People from Tuskegee, Alabama Category:African American television personalities Category:National Radio Hall of Fame inductees

fi:Tom Joyner