MTV News Shutting Down After 36 Years
“What launched as a single show in 1987 (The Week in Rock, led by correspondent Kurt Loder) eventually became a bona fide news outlet for Gen X and older millennials”
If you’re a member of Generation X, you surely remember seeing clips of MTV News between music videos, back when MTV played music videos.
Paramount, which owns the outlet, has just made a bunch of fresh cuts, and MTV News didn’t make it.
The Hollywood Reporter has the story:
MTV News Signs Off for Good After 36-Year Run
Thirty-six years after MTV News was created to expand the stable of programming that defined the cable channel MTV, it is no more.
MTV News was shuttered this week as part of larger layoffs at parent company Paramount Global.
What launched as a single show in 1987 (The Week in Rock, led by correspondent Kurt Loder) eventually became a bona fide news outlet for Gen X and older millennials who found that traditional TV programming on the broadcast networks and CNN wasn’t cutting it.
Correspondents like Loder, Tabitha Soren, SuChin Pak, Gideon Yago, Alison Stewart and others covered music, pop culture, politics and other topics with an eye toward the younger generation that was tuned to MTV, rather than the network evening newscasts.
Along the way, MTV News created some pop culture moments itself, perhaps none bigger than in 1994, when President Clinton appeared on MTV’s Enough Is Enough, a town hall addressing violence in America.
The special was led by Soren and Stewart and saw them, as well as audience members in attendance, asking questions of Clinton about fighting crime and balancing personal freedom with social responsibility. But it was a section of lighter questions and answers that made national headlines, when an audience member asked Clinton, “Mr. President, the world’s dying to know, is it boxers or briefs?”
“Usually briefs. I can’t believe she did that,” Clinton responded, to laughter from the crowd.
Lots of people forgot that there even was such a thing as MTV News.
Ain’t checked for MTV news since Kurt Loder https://t.co/a9FsQM2Lgv pic.twitter.com/poQnHVmewW
— Brittanie (@Burrrittanie) May 9, 2023
They did cover some big stories over the years, however, including the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994.
Here’s Kurt Loder announcing Kurt Cobain’s death on MTV News on Apr. 8, 1994.
This was how millions of people found out Kurt was gone. pic.twitter.com/lIgj4TAbmt
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) May 9, 2023
The closure of MTV News won’t have a major impact on our current media environment, but it was definitely a part of American culture that had an impact for people of a certain age.
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
Care to explain how covering the collapse of MTV News takes priority over Comer’s news conference from earlier this morning?
Does Comer wear boxers or briefs?
Depends.
You typed that demonstrating Poise.
“Takes priority?” What are you talking about? Mike covers higher education and ‘gen x’ issues all the time… no surprise to me that this story is on his beat.
I imagine we’ll see a write-up here on the Comer news conference later today or tomorrow, after they’ve had time to research and write up something meaningful.
If you’re looking for ‘hot takes’ you’re in the wrong place.
Dude, just relax. It was a joke about timing not a criticism. Mike’s story was posted right at the conclusion of the Comer press conference.
By the way, who died and made you Captain America?
I’m 58, I remember when MTV was great, not some “reality TV” s^&*hole. And MTV News was something extra that was mostly well done (Mr. Clinton’s underwear not withstanding). Another part of my yute gone, RIP MTV News. Like MTV, good while it lasted.
Adam Curry, of MTV fame, has a podcast called Noagenda with John Dvorak.
Adam is considered the father of podcasting and I think most people here would like it. It’s twice a week , Sunday and Thursday
Adam did amazing things after MTV, he now lives in the hill country by Austin.
Good. This crappy channel has had a very detrimental effect on the culture.
When did you turn into Tipper Gore?
I was libertarian for all of two minutes and it stopped right after I read “Atlass Shrugged.” Can you honestly say the culture has gotten better because of rampant libertinism, something both Leftists and libertarians support?
I do not think most of those words mean what you think they mean.
It’s not my fault you don’t have enough synapses to understand there is much a difference between Leftism and libertarianism, at least when it comes to culture. But go on trying to make silly insults. I can play that game too.
My goodness. With deference to this here comment machinery not providing me a “reply” button on your previous, I’ll reply this way:
The way you choose to behave is your fault.
Libertarian and libertine are quite different things. A libertarian doesn’t much care what a consenting adult does that isn’t harmful to others. They might choose to engage in hedonism but someone who is libertine is already knee deep in hedonism by definition.
There is is distinct difference between leftist and libertarian. As an example I take a libertarian view on drug policy but I also take a libertarian view on providing any taxpayer funds for drug addiction.
You want to shoot heroin? Have at it but there shouldn’t be any methadone clinics much less needle exchange or safe spaces to shoot up or tolerance for the inevitable criminal actions that flow from addiction. You make adult choices and get adult consequences. You carry your own burden, don’t make excuses and don’t act like you deserve taxpayer support for self inflicted problems.
That position won’t ever be supported as public policy, so I am a ‘realistic libertarian’ in favor of the maximum liberty alongside maximum consequences that the public will support. So b/c the public won’t support rounding up all the drug addicts, putting them into a cold turkey dry out behind bars with no medical support but an aspirin and a multivitamin a day…I am opposed to drug legalization. It isn’t practical.
And yet, you advocate for libertinism. Don’t correct me and stop writing long word salads justifying your nonsense.
No I don’t. I advocate for maximum individual liberty for behavior among consenting adults that don’t injure others but without any safety net from taxpayers. We have individual will and can choose to do X or to refrain from doing X. The existence of a choice doesn’t require one to select that choice.
‘Don’t correct me’ ‘stop writing..’ You say. In other words you have appointed yourself Lord High Sheriff of what people can do, to whom they are allowed to do so and when they are allowed to do so. Nah.
We don’t (yet) live in your totalitarian fantasy. You wanna play tin pot dictator go ahead but don’t be surprised when when people ignore you Karen.
Ooooh. Ooooh. Ooooh. He insulted you, too. I find myself in good company.
Meanwhile, such confidence from our language-master; must have some great analysis hidden somewhere. One wonders if they’re gonna share, sometime.
As I recall, Kurt Loder was somewhat right-leaning or libertarian, but was critical of the left.
Also, IIRC, FBN’s Kennedy started there.
I had a crush on her growing up.
Martha Quinn
Frau Blücher
For some reason Martha Quip didn’t do it for me but Kennedy did. Maybe the glasses?
Kennedy was “sexy librarian.” Like Kat Timpf.
True but I have always had a thing for brunettes and for smart, articulate women.
Good. Now do ABC NBC CBS.
This is literally the first time I have ever heard of MTV News. And, apparently, the last.
Last time I saw MTV was 1986. I think back then it was an actual music channel, not a talk-about-musicians channel, or whatever it turned into after that.
So CNN was better than someone!
So CNN wasn’t the bottom of the heap after all! Maybe Don Lemon gets his job back?
Buried lede: MTV new is still a thing.
Fire everyone and only show music videos or something
“ Lots of people forgot that there even was such a thing as MTV News.”
I forgot there was an MTV.
If it weren’t for Dire Straits reminding me a few times a year, I would have also.