Who Killed the Video Star: The Story of MTV

In our finale, we try to get an answer for our central question: what happened to MTV? But also, for the deeper questions that have been bubbling up over the last eight episodes, what happened to everything? Why does the loss of MTV hit so hard? Is this optimized, algorithmicized entertainment landscape sustainable or satisfying? Can we go back? And… how many episodes did Ridiculousness just get picked up for? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

For now anyway, we have heard the last of the place where you used to hear it first. While we were recording this podcast, as part of a round of layoffs at Paramount, MTV News was officially euthanized. So we’re taking a moment to talk to some of the people who built the one news brand that took young viewers seriously, and some of the voices those young viewers came to trust.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

As the moment of the boy bands and the pop girlies winds down, MTV gets new life by making celebrities into reality stars, and cranking out daily dating shows. But as the ratings soar, a revolution is brewing, and it's about to steal MTV's thunder. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

In the ‘90s, MTV is established enough to attract Bob Dylan to Unplugged and host its own Rock & Roll Inaugural Ball. But then a survey from the network’s research department turns up one small fact about the MTV audience that makes a massive impact on their programming, on popular music, and on traffic patterns in midtown Manhattan.  Who Killed the Video Star: The Story of MTV is a new 8-episode Audacy original about the rise and fall of MTV hosted by former MTV VJ, Dave Holmes. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

We know that with 1992's The Real World, MTV predicted the phenomenon of reality television. But they also created a new species that roams the earth to this very day: the Reality Television Star. We talk to a few early Real World cast members about the blinding level of fame the show gave them, and the ways it affected their own reality. Who Killed the Video Star: The Story of MTV is a new 8-episode Audacy original about the rise and fall of MTV hosted by former MTV VJ, Dave Holmes. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]