Hello everyone, today, we’ve got a jaw-dropping story that’s sure to hit home for many of you. MTV.com, the once iconic hub for music news, political insights, and groundbreaking journalism, has vanished. Yes, you heard that right – it’s gone.
Parent company Paramount, formerly known as Viacom, has wiped out over twenty years of news archives, leaving nothing but a placeholder site for reality shows. The music in MTV is no more, and with it, the rich tapestry of reporting and journalism from music and political writers. It’s like MTV never existed, and sadly, the same fate has befallen VH1.com.
This move has no precedent and no valid reason other than what can only be described as cheapness and stupidity. It follows the shutdown of MTV News on the channel last year, turning MTV into a graveyard for reality show content, stripped of all its original substance.
MTV News was once a powerhouse in music, entertainment, and politics, especially during the early 90s. With the channel’s soaring popularity, the News division, featuring the likes of Kurt Loder, Alison Stewart, Serena Altschul, Sway, and John Norris, became incredibly influential. Their interviews with rock stars and influencers of generations have now been replaced by links to shows like “Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship.”
Writer Kathy Iandoli voiced her frustration, saying, “MTV.com deleting all of our articles and replacing them with schedules for TV shows that can also no longer be streamed on their site is proof that no one has any idea of what the hell they are doing right now.” She’s not alone. There is fury among former and current MTV.com writers who see their histories erased, along with all the critical music and political reporting.
Patrick Hosken lamented, “So, http://mtvnews.com no longer exists. Eight years of my life are gone without a trace. All because it didn’t fit some executives’ bottom lines. Infuriating is too small a word.” Michell Clark echoed this sentiment, saying, “I don’t even have the words. I was just a freelancer but I put so much blood, sweat, and tears into telling stories that I cared about, the right way, on that platform. What a gut punch.”
The erasure of MTV.com archives is a stark reminder that the internet is not as permanent as we might think. This isn’t the first time such a digital purge has happened. When Jared Kushner acquired the New York Observer years ago, hundreds of articles disappeared. As Paramount destroyed the library of articles, some writers managed to save a few for the Wayback Machine, which has been trying to preserve disappearing information on the internet. However, most of the pop culture articles will now vanish.
Paramount owner Shari Redstone has overseen something far worse than any fears about selling the company – the obliteration of a significant cultural and journalistic archive.
This isn’t just about corporate greed; it’s a wake-up call for anyone who believed the internet was forever. The lesson here is clear: not having print copies of a writer’s work is a big mistake. We’ve learned the hard way that digital archives can disappear in an instant, erasing valuable pieces of history.
Stay tuned, folks, and remember to back up your digital work. The permanence of the internet is a myth, and we must protect our stories and our history from oblivion.
