Video Killed The News Star

 Where do you get your news? 

Well, if you happen to be my wife, in many cases this would be the place. On a somewhat frequent basis she walks into the room with a pained expression asking, "Why didn't you tell me (fill in the blank with pop culture icon) died?" 

The answer is, of course, I did. It just had to travel through all the tubes and wires that would eventually lead to her clicking on the link that brings her here to my long-running anthology series called "What's On Dave's Mind." It's that three day lag time between writing and publishing that makes it seem like I was hiding something from her. I wasn't. It's the limitations of the machine. 

Which brings me to the sad news I recently received through my usual sources: MTV News is calling it a day. After thirty-six years of bringing a generation news about music, television, and music television, the folks at the central office are pulling the plug along with layoffs throughout the Paramount system. The outlet that let me know that Kurt Cobain had left Nirvana on his way to rock and roll heaven has gone away itself. 

This may not seem like a big deal to a generation who would not recognize a cable network that existed primarily as a place to play promotional films or "videos" for rock bands. There was an age in which these little movies were created with the explicit intent of landing on this network, this so-called "Music Television." For six years, that was good enough, but then somebody got it into their head that we might all want more information about the guys in Duran Duran, or what Cyndi Lauper was up to between albums. Former editor and feature writer for Rolling Stone Kurt Loder was shoved in front of a camera to answer these and other probing questions. 

Over time, MTV News began to form its own identity, covering not just concerts and contests but landed a unique spot in the political arena by helping form the Rock The Vote movement, designed to get eighteen to twenty-four year olds registered to vote. It would not be a stretch to say that this focus helped usher Bill Clinton into office. And yes, it was Kurt Loder who broke into the regular broadcasting day to let me know that Kurt Cobain had disbanded. 

And now, MTV News has closed up shop, part of a massive layoff at their parent company. I apologize to my wife for not telling her sooner.