MTV Newswas the news production division ofMTV.The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes ofBuzzFeedandVice,[1]but by mid-2017 MTV News was significantly downsized due to cutbacks.
MTV News content was available from respective MTV websites,Apps,YouTubeand on-air.
In November 2018, MTV News began producing daily updates onTwittertitledMTV News: You Need to Know.[2]Later titledMTV News Need to Know,the show has evolved to a digital series that covers trending topics from pop culture tosocial justiceissues to electoral politics and beyond.
On May 9, 2023, it was announced that the division would close.[3]The associated website shut down on June 24, 2024.[4][5]
History
editMTV News began in 1987 with the programThe Week in Rock,hosted by long timeRolling Stonewriter/music criticKurt Loder,the first official MTV News correspondent. Beginning in 1990, the opening riff toMegadeth's "Peace Sells"was the main opening theme forThe Week in Rock.
It first began covering political news in the1992 American presidential elections,through its "Choose or Lose" campaign.[6][7]MTV continued to run "Choose or Lose" for otherpresidential electionsin the United States. For the2008 election,Barack ObamaandHillary Clintonappeared on an MTV special to discuss theIraq war.[8]
Throughout the 2000s, MTV News began publishing digital editorial content via their website, Twitter feed, YouTube channel andFacebookpage, offering information about MTV programming and music/pop-culturenews aggregation.[9]In November 2015, MTV introduced a new direction for its news department and hired Dan Fierman, former editorial director ofGrantland,as MTV's editorial director and announced it would producelong-form journalism,think pieces and diversify its staff. However, in June 2017, MTV decided to restructure its news division with a greater focus on video, laying off much of their editorial staff.[10]Later years saw a dramatic decrease in content produced by the outlet for its website or other avenues.
The division faced downsizing in the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s, and was shut down in May 2023.[3]In June 2024,Varietyreported that "more than two decades' worth of content published on MTVNews is no longer available after MTV appears to have fully pulled down the site and its related content".[4]In response to the archives being removed, Michael Alex, the founding editor of MTV News' digital organization from 1994 until 2007, stated:
But if history has taught us one thing, it's that archives are valuable – for decades, recording studios threw away priceless master tapes left behind by everyone from the Rolling Stones to James Brown… until they started appearing on bootlegs and the artists and labels began spending thousands to get them back. In their way, the archives of MTV News and countless other news and entertainment organizations have a similar value: They're a living record of entertainment history as it happened. [...] History needs stewards, not owners. Whoever legally owns the archive does not legally own the history, even if they own the creative work of thousands of writers, editors, producers and more. This archive – of MTV News, where you heard it first – needs to be available to public.[11]
AParamountspokesperson stated that "all MTV News content is being preserved in an archive" and the removal was "part of broader website changes across Paramount";Varietynoted that this archive is not publicly accessible.[12]Deadlinereported that, per sources, "no content has been deleted and the company is exploring how to make this important content available in a more efficient way".[13]In July 2024, theInternet Archivelaunched an independent[13][14]"searchable index of 460,575 web pages previously published at mtv /news" dating back to 1997 on theWayback Machine.[12]However, the collection is incomplete as some articles and article images were not archived.[12][13]
MTV News in the U.S.
editCurrent and former correspondents
editMTV News International
editWhen MTV launched in Europe it used a variation of MTV News US reports with localized European reporting. Upon regionalization of MTV channels in 1997, MTV begun to localize presenters and reporting depending on the MTV region. Its flagship programming in Europe consisted of a daily news update MTV News Update and a weekly highlights show called MTV News Weekend Edition; these ceased airing in the early 2000s. With the move of MTV towards more reality based programming MTV News bulletins became a short news bulletin on the hours between 16:00 to 22:00 Monday to Friday on some MTV channels.
As of July 2013, Viacom International Media Networks has launched a new news bulletin which utilises the existing MTV News UK broadcasts. These MTV News International bulletins air on the majority of MTV channels (with exception to MTV US, MTV Canada, MTV Italy, MTV Brazil, MTV Japan, MTV China and MTV Latin America) in the English language which are either dubbed or subtitled. During MTV News broadcasts viewers are directed to mtvnews.co.uk for further news updates. The news bulletins are presented by MTV UK presenters.
MTV Networks confirmed it would relaunch the MTV Brand and its content in mid-2016, MTV have yet to confirm whether this will impact on news broadcasts outside the US.[1]
By 2016, MTV News International was significantly reduced with news reports confined to social media and some localized MTV websites in the UK, the Benelux, Australia and New Zealand.
Former international presenters
editReferences
edit- ^abSteinberg, Brian (February 11, 2016)."MTV News: Viacom and MTV Want To Revive News And Documentary Unit".Variety.Los Angeles, California.Archivedfrom the original on June 14, 2016.RetrievedDecember 24,2016.
- ^Aycock, Jason (October 10, 2018)."Viacom expands Snap partnership, plans MTV News show for Twitter".Seeking Alpha.Archivedfrom the original on August 4, 2020.RetrievedOctober 15,2018.
- ^abAndreeva, Nellie; White, Peter (May 9, 2023)."Paramount Division Run By Chris McCarthy Lays Off 25% Of Domestic Staff; MTV News Among Units Shut Down".Deadline.
- ^abSpangler, Todd (June 24, 2024)."MTV News Website Goes Dark, Archives Pulled Offline".Variety.
- ^Garcia, Nick (June 25, 2024)."MTV news website taken down after decades of music journalism".The Philippine Star.PhilStar Life.Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2024.RetrievedJune 25,2024.
- ^De Witt, Karen (February 8, 1992)."MTV Puts the Campaign on Fast Forward".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2024.RetrievedFebruary 19,2008.
- ^Miller, Judith(October 11, 1992)."But Can You Dance to It?: MTV Turns to News".The New York Times.New York City.Archivedfrom the original on February 15, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 19,2008.
- ^Guthrie, Marisa (March 17, 2008)."Clinton, Obama to Participate in MTV" Choose or Lose "Discussion".Broadcasting & Cable.New York City:Future US.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2020.RetrievedMarch 17,2008.
- ^Steinberg, Brian (February 11, 2017)."Viacom Reboots MTV News in First Step Toward Reviving Network".Variety.Los Angeles, California:Penske Media Corporation.Archivedfrom the original on June 14, 2016.RetrievedJune 30,2017.
- ^Gensler, Andy (June 28, 2017)."MTV Restructuring News Department, Shifting to Emphasis on Video".Billboard.Los Angeles, California:Eldridge Industries.Archivedfrom the original on November 22, 2019.RetrievedJune 30,2017.
- ^Alex, Michael (June 27, 2024)."The Disappearance of MTV News' Online Archive Is a Tragedy: Guest Post by the Website's Founding Editor".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on June 27, 2024.RetrievedJune 27,2024.
- ^abcSpangler, Todd (July 2, 2024)."MTV News Repository of 460,000 Articles Launched by Internet Archive After Paramount's Content Takedown".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on July 15, 2024.RetrievedJuly 3,2024.
- ^abcPetski, Denise (July 2, 2024)."MTV News Lives On In Internet Archive".Deadline.Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2024.RetrievedJuly 3,2024.
- ^Blistein, Jon (July 2, 2024)."MTV News Is Back (Kind Of) Thanks to the Internet Archive".Rolling Stone.Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2024.RetrievedJuly 3,2024.
External links
edit- Official website(archived on theWayback Machineon July 26, 2021)
- MTV News archived collectionvia the Wayback Machine