MTV News closes after 36 years due to Paramount layoffs.
MTV News Shuts Down After 36 Years
MTV News, the entertainment news network that launched in 1987, has closed down after 36 years in operation. The closure comes as parent company Paramount Global implements mass layoffs, cutting almost 25% of MTV and Showtime’s staff.
A History of Entertainment News
MTV News aimed to provide entertainment content for anyone looking for an alternative news network focused on music, pop culture, news, and politics. One of the most viral moments in the network’s history was during a 1994 town hall about violence in America with then-President Bill Clinton.
- “Mr. President, the world’s dying to know, is it boxers or briefs?” the woman asked Clinton.
- “Usually briefs,” Clinton said. “I can’t believe she did that.”
Their exchange became national news at the time.
The End of an Era
MTV News was much smaller and less popular in recent years than in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was slimmed down in 2017 following a failed campaign to compete with outlets like Vice and Buzzfeed, which have also been struggling lately.
Fans and former employees shared their thoughts about the shuttering of MTV News on social media.
- “This is a very sad day for a lot of friends and colleagues,” MTV personality Josh Horowitz said in a tweet. “Many great people lost their jobs. I was hired by MTV News 17 years ago. I’m so honored to have been a small part of its history. Wishing the best for the best in the business.”
- “Wow! MTV News announced it will be shutting down – literally the end of an era,” TV host Aliya Jasmine said. “Huge part of my career was anchoring this iconic show for over a decade… formed me, formed a few generations… wow.”
- “MTV News got an entire generation of Gen Xers and older millennials to start paying attention to global events, politics, the world. Kurt Loder & the MTV News crew expanded a part of my brain that living in small-town rural America never could,” Screen Rant’s Alisha Grauso tweeted.
Despite its closure, MTV News will always be remembered as a pioneer in the world of entertainment news.
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