, bringing to an end the iconic music video network’s news division that once covered a range of issues from pop culture to politics and became a household name for Generation X and Millennial adolescents. Chris McCarthy, who heads Paramount Media Networks, MTV and Showtime, said in a memo to staff Tuesday that despite the media giant’s “success” in streaming, the company continues to “feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers.
The decision to shut down MTV News, which had already been significantly scaled down in recent years, comes less than a month after BuzzFeed announced it would eliminate its award-winning news division and Vice Media canceled its acclaimed “Vice News Tonight” as part of a broad restructuring. MTV News’ meteoric rise began in the 1980s when Rolling Stone editor-turned-TV host Kurt Loder joined the network and launched its “The Week in Rock” program, as well as other specials.