Internet Stunned as Legendary 80’s Show ‘MTV News’ Shuts Down after 36 Glorious Years of Entertainment
Television has been a staple of American entertainment for decades. Before the advent of the Internet and smartphones, television was the primary source of media consumption for most households. In this era, many significant and well-made shows came up, including MTV News.
It was an extraordinary show back; in the ’80s and the ’90s. A revolutionary program gained a mass audience and critical acclaim for its unique and innovative approach to entertainment news. Alas, after 36 years of service, MTV News is shutting down. Fans feel nostalgic and sad. Truly, the end of an era for American television.
MTV News Shuts Down After 36-Year Run
MTV News started in the late 1980s as a single show, The Week in Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder. The American Cable Network, MTV News, was halted this week due to mass layoffs at parent company Paramount Global. The bonafide news outlet began covering political news in 1992 amid American presidential elections via its “Choose or Lose” campaign.
In the 2000s, the outlet started broadcasting digital editorial content with its official news website and social media pages. The outlet offered information about MTV programming with music and pop-culture journalism. In November 2015, the outlet introduced a new path for its news department and announced it would produce a large amount of content and diversify its staff.
The channel was committed to serving its young viewers and older millennials for 36 years. According to Variety, due to mass layoffs at parent company Paramount Global MTV News was affected heavily and is now shutting down.
Read some of the tweets from fans in response to the end of the MTV News era.
If you lived in the era of Kurt Loder and Tabitha Soren @ MTV News, you have lived. So many huge moments in pop culture: Kurt Cobain, Biggie, and 2Pac passings, Courtney Love crashing Madonna’s interview, etc. https://t.co/viCyU6lSIg pic.twitter.com/rmdnRDYVfK
— Carlos (@carlosjharris) May 9, 2023
A fan wrote,
“If you lived in the era of Kurt Loder and Tabitha Soren @ MTV News, you have lived. So many huge moments in pop culture: Kurt Cobain, Biggie, and 2Pac passings, Courtney Love crashing Madonna’s interview, etc.”
THE ERA….we will NEVER get this again. And lord, Kurt was good for shading folk OUT. lol
— A Black man in Pittsburgh. (@DhalgrenHogg87) May 9, 2023
A second user wrote,
“THE ERA….we will NEVER get this again. And lord, Kurt was good for shading folk OUT.”
Remember when Courtney threw something on Madonna to get her attention before this interview? That was classic!
— DarkWarlock (@DarkWarlock5) May 10, 2023
y’all are letting pop culture slowly dying …. then y’all wonder why we dont have pop girlies that gag anymore
— Malibu🔺 (@MalibuGagaaa) May 9, 2023
Another tweeted,
“Not going to lie…I had ZERO ideas that MTV News was still around. I thought they closed down YEARS ago.”
Surprised it lasted this long – realistically why would mtv news be around when the only thing aired on mtv for the past ten plus years are the same tired reality shows and mtv ridiculousness… they didn’t cultivate the network to continue offerings focused on true entertainers
— D2 – Duan Dempsey (@thatsd2) May 9, 2023
According to reports, MTV News joins many other news outlets that have faced intense reductions in recent months, including BuzzFeed News Vice, Media, and CNN.
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MTV News Shattered Due To Mass Layoffs At Paramount Global
MTV News is one of the outlets that did not fit into the bigger plan amidst mass turmoil in the entertainment industry and with Paramount attempting to cut costs. According to reports, the outlets’ primary website saw 6 million monthly visitors in March, an uptick from 5.6 million in the same month last year.
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In the jaw-dropping memo to staff Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president, Chris McCarthy stated:
“Despite Paramount’s success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers and that senior leaders in coordination with HR have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business.”
McCarthy continued,
“As a result, we have made the very hard; but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%. This is a tough yet important strategic realignment for our group. Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward. Today we will notify employees whose positions are being impacted with leaders communicating the news directly to those teams/or individuals. These meetings will be followed by individual 1:1s with our HR partners.”
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MTV News will always be remembered for its impact on pop culture and its commitment to engaging younger audiences. The GEN X American news network was best known for its in-depth coverage of pop culture events by Kurt Loder, Tabitha Soren, Gideon Yago, Alison Stewart, and SuChin Pak.
Source: Variety
