Music fans and journalists have expressed shock (and fury) after more than 20 years of articles were apparently lost with the shocking closure of MTVNews.com.
Founded in 1996 as an offshoot of the 1980s MTV show of the same name, the website covered major music, film and political stories, and had continued after the closure of the brand’s YouTube channel last year.
Without any official announcement, fans who logged into the site were simply redirected to MTV’s main website on Monday, sparking anger among many on social media over the lack of an official announcement and the “deletion” of a file. extensive.
Patrick Hosken, former music editor for MTV News, called the closure “infuriating,” stating that “eight years of my life have gone without a trace.”
Pop culture fans were shocked Monday after MTVNews.com suddenly shut down its website, taking with it every article written since it began in 1996.
Rolling Stone senior writer Brian Hiattsite fumed: “Decades of research material on pop culture history disappeared,” and called the archive’s sudden deletion “truly despicable.”
The site was particularly known for its in-depth coverage of various genres, from rock to hip-hop, and its weekly Mixtape Monday column was very popular with fans, thanks to its coverage of new artists and interesting interviews.
The site’s YouTube division closed last year, but the website had survived until now (Pictured: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie discussing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on MTV News)
The site covered momentous events in global news along with music and film content, including Barack Obama’s historic speech in the run-up to his 2008 election victory.
The site wasn’t afraid to cover political topics either, with one fan writing: ‘During its heyday, MTV News covered Kendrick vs. Drake, Israel/Palestine, and the election. The kids don’t realize how important it was.
In May last year, brand owners Paramount Global closed the MTV News streaming division, but the website appeared to have survived the cull that had seen a 25 percent cut in staff.
The show first aired in the late ’80s, with the brand’s first MTV News correspondent, Kurt Loder, at the helm.
A country music-focused sister site, CMT.com, also owned by Paramount Global, suffered a similar fate last week, with its archive of writings on the genre lost to the ether.