MTV News was an early pioneer in the world of music and entertainment journalism, moving from its original on-air format and later advancing in the online news space. This week, Paramount announced that it was cutting around 25 percent of its staff and MTV News would also be shuttered as a result.
As spotted on NPR, the shutdown of MTV News comes amid shifts in the ways people consume content and how entertainment news operations are attempting to stay afloat in a changing market.
With the advent of streaming and social media hubs becoming the source of where most get information, MTV News, a one-time leader in its respective lane, is a casualty of a massive restructuring at Paramount. Despite the company’s larger success in the streaming markets, there have been reports of slowed ad sales and other drying paths of revenue.
For nearly 40 years, the division transformed the way the public received information about their favorite artists and entertainers. MTV was at the forefront of making music and the industry at large a space where stories could be told and stars could be made.
The division also launched the careers of several on-air hosts, including Kurt Loder and Sway Calloway, and on the digital side, established media personalities like Rob Markman also honed their skills at the MTV News outfit.
On Twitter, past members of the division are sharing accounts of their time at MTV in its news sector and giving praise to the many writers, reporters, and staff who brought the division’s aims to life.
We’ve got a handful of those reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
1.
The MTV News team is a family. I’ve built relationships with some of the OGs , who came before me and had left before I got there. It was simply because I was a part of that institution, they showed love.
— Rob Markman
(@RobMarkman) May 9, 2023
2.
In it’s prime, MTV News was one of the most influential programs in existence.
Necessary programming that launched a thousand ships for more several generations.
— brandon / jinx / big jinx (@brandonjinx) May 9, 2023
3.
big RIP to MTV News. thanks for letting me interview Macklemore while extremely high on cocaine & only having heard one of his songs, and for neglecting to fire me on 'pivot to video' day because they'd forgotten i worked there.
— MG (@meaghan_garvey) May 9, 2023
4.
There was a time when MTV News was Twitter. That’s where we found out shit happened.
— IG @JLBarrow (@JLBarrow) May 10, 2023
5.
So long #MTV News, it was a great ride
https://t.co/t4ygMnP4LQ
— Martha Quinn Ⓥ (@MarthaQuinn) May 10, 2023
7.
The end of an era that defined the careers for so many of us. The incomparable lessons, friends & memories will live with me forever. #MTVNews #MTVNews&Docs
— Nan (@NanMoss10) May 11, 2023
9.
In honor of the end of MTV News. The best moment of pure chaos
pic.twitter.com/h8dzp4LIQh— sam greisman (@SAMGREIS) May 10, 2023
10.
The end of an era. Still working on dope projects at paramount & beyond.. But it’ll never be the same w/o that @mtvnews mic flag and a team of producers/editors/eps that made me a better thinker, journalist, and human. Immensely proud. Mostly angry at present. But also proud af.
— Dometi Pongo (@Dometi_) May 9, 2023
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