(DCWatchdog.com) – In a confusing move that enraged its fans, MTV News abruptly shut down its website, erasing over two decades of content.
Variety reported that similarly, MTV’s relative country music site, CMT.com, has also had its content archives removed.
Both moves are part of wider cutbacks by their parent company, Paramount Global, which closed MTV News in 2023 due to financial struggles.
Now, visitors to mtvnews.com or mtv.com/news are redirected to MTV’s main site, marking the end of a significant era in digital music journalism that began in 1996.
Moreover, the site hosted thousands of articles and interviews, particularly the “Mixtape Monday” column, which was crucial during the 2000s and 2010s for its in-depth coverage of hip-hop culture and new artists.
The removal of these archives has not only wiped out a significant portion of digital music history but also sparked strong reactions from former staffers and the journalistic community.
For instance, former music editor at MTV News Patrick Hosken expressed his dismay on Twitter, mourning the loss of eight years of his work.
“So, mtvnews.com no longer exists. Eight years of my life are gone without a trace,” Hosken posted. “All because it didn’t fit some executives’ bottom lines. Infuriating is too small a word.”
Crystal Bell, now a culture editor at Mashable and formerly with MTV News, highlighted the importance of losing vital music history.
“sickening (derogatory) to see the entire @mtvnews archive wiped from the internet,” Bell wrote as well. “Decades of music history gone…including some very early k-pop stories.”
In the same way, Brian Hiatt, a senior writer at Rolling Stone, also criticized the decision.
“This is disgraceful. They’ve completely wiped the MTV News archive,” Hiatt added. “Decades of pop culture history research material gone, and why?”
According to Variety, MTV has not responded to requests for comment regarding the removal of these archives as of now.
Copyright 2024, DCWatchdog.com
