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Bidding goodbye to MTV News after 36 years

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

After 36 years, MTV News is shutting down.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MTV NEWS")

SONYA SAUL: Hi. Sonya Saul here with MTV News.

PFEIFFER: The channel started in the '80s. And in its heyday, it was an essential source for music interviews with guests like Madonna, Prince and Tupac. Here he is in 1992.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MTV NEWS")

TUPAC: There's no way. There's no way that these people should own planes, and there are people that don't have houses, apartments, shacks, drawers, pants.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

And it was home to journalists like Sway Calloway, SuChin Pak, Alison Stewart, Kurt Loder.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MTV NEWS")

KURT LODER: Hi, I'm Kurt Loder with an MTV News special report. On a very sad day, Kurt Cobain, the leader of one of rock's most gifted and promising bands, Nirvana, is dead. And this is the story...

KELLY: It was a meaningful source of the day's news for many millennials and Gen Xers - like us, Sacha - remembering the fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MTV NEWS")

SAUL: How do you feel about this situation now? Tomorrow, the wall is open. What do you think about that?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Well, I think it's great. I'm just - I don't know - I can't believe it. I think I'm in a dream or something. I went to...

PFEIFFER: MTV News found a way to speak to young people and with them. Remember this town hall with then-President Bill Clinton in 1994?

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MTV NEWS")

LAETITIA THOMPSON: Mr. President, the world is dying to know. Is it boxers or briefs?

(LAUGHTER)

BILL CLINTON: Usually briefs.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: I can't believe she did that.

KELLY: I can't believe she did either.

PFEIFFER: (Laughter).

KELLY: Totally unforgettable moment. The staff of MTV News joins journalists from other outlets that have recently endured layoffs or closed completely, including Vice, BuzzFeed News, Vox and Gawker.

PFEIFFER: So for one last time, with nostalgic memories for people like Mary Louise and me, who were teenagers when MTV News came out.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MTV NEWS")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: MTV News - you hear it first.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN PETERSEN'S AND JONATHAN ELIAS' "MAN ON THE MOON (OFFICIAL MTV THEME)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Alejandra Marquez Janse
Alejandra Marquez Janse is a producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered. She was part of a team that traveled to Uvalde, Texas, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary to cover its impact on the community. She also helped script and produce NPR's first bilingual special coverage of the State of the Union – broadcast in Spanish and English.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.