The news website of Music Television (MTV) has been completely expunged this week, a year after Paramount Global dissolved MTV's news unit, marking a sad day in music journalism.
Variety first reported on the development Monday (June 24), saying that two decades' worth of music journalism was erased with the website's shutdown.
Accessing MTV News articles on mtvnews.com or mtv.com/news would only redirect users to the main MTV website.
It remains to be seen why Paramount wiped off MTV News' and CMT's archives, which were also expunged last week.
Some internet users observed that MTV News articles might be available through internet archiving services like Wayback Machine, but Hiatt noted that older MTV News articles did not show up there.
It could be recalled that Paramount, MTV's parent firm, shuttered MTV News amid financial issues but kept the website running as an archive.
Aside from MTV, Paramount also had issues with its leadership after Bob Bakish resigned as CEO and was replaced with a triumvirate of executives. It also had talks with Amazon over expanding its media partnership and a merger deal with Skydance, which was eventually abandoned due to shareholder disputes.
20+ Years' Worth of MTV's Music Journalism Erased
The MTV News website was launched in 1996, and has since evolved into an archive of interviews, reviews, and exclusive content featuring musical artists and producers and other people early in their careers.
In the aftermath of the website's shutdown and the scrubbing of the archives, former MTV News staffers and other music and entertainment journalists expressed grief, frustration, and disappointment on social media.
Former MTV News music editor Patrick Hosken tweeted that eight years of his life were "gone without a trace."
So, https://t.co/ypQLdbaWk5 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
— Patrick Hosken (@patrickhosken) June 24, 2024
Mashable culture editor and former MTV News staffer Crystal Bell added that the MTV News archive being wiped from the internet, "including some very early K-Pop stories," was derogatorily "sickening."
sickening (derogatory) to see the entire @mtvnews archive wiped from the internet. decades of music history gone...including some very early k-pop stories.
— Crystal Bell (@crystalbell) June 24, 2024
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone senior writer Brian Hiatt called removing the website "disgraceful."
This is disgraceful. They've completely wiped the MTV News archive. Decades of pop culture history research material gone, and why? https://t.co/xJQRXrNERS
— Brian Hiatt (@hiattb) June 24, 2024
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