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
