MTV Turns 25

Background: Originally published August 9, 2006.

     I don't know which made me feel older this past week: celebrating my 40th birthday, or learning that MTV turned 25 years old. In an entertainment column published August 1st in the Grants Pass Daily Courier, Copy Editor Todd Wels posed the question, "What happened to the M in MTV?"
     When Music TeleVision was born 25 years ago, the local cable TV system in Sutherlin-Oakland did not immediately put MTV on their system. Indeed, countless years elapsed before north county viewers received MTV. Therefore, the first music video that I saw was in 1984 when I was living in Brazil during my senior year of high school. I'll never forget watching Michael Jackson's "Thriller" while staying with my Brazilian host family. Was this some kind of marketing ploy unique to Jackson? When I returned to the United States, I learned it was not solely a Jackson phenomenon.
     When I returned to Oakland to attend my senior class graduation ceremony, MTV was still nowhere to be found in Sutherlin-Oakland. But when I visited a classmate's home one Friday evening, I discovered the next best thing: TBS Night Tracks. During the year that I had been gone in Brazil, Superstation WTBS from Atlanta had dropped the W from its identity, and they had added several hours of non-stop music videos every Friday night. Michael Jackson was just a voice in the chorus alongside the dozens of other performers who created music videos to augment their audio recordings.
     Night Tracks fell by the wayside, but so did the music videos on MTV. "All music all the time" may have been their slogan when MTV signed on in 1981, but it certainly wasn't what they put into practice. As the years went by, MTV replaced its all music format with special programs and reality shows. They launched MTV2 for the purpose of "all music all the time," but that second channel has also given way to other programs.
     I never developed an interest in MTV. There always seemed to be some other venue to watch music videos, if I felt so inclined. If there wasn't TBS Night Tracks, there were always other sources while living in Eugene. When KLSR-TV signed on the air in 1987 (four years after KMTR-TV signed on the air), it was an all music video station. That wasn't their slogan, but unlike MTV, KLSR at least put it into practice.
     KLSR's first-ever slogan billed itself as "lifestyle television for Eugene-Springfield." Somewhat a hybrid, KLSR resembled a radio station with pictures. Longtime KZEL-FM disc-jockey Al Scott was recruited to host one of the rock video segments on KLSR. Other familiar names from the Eugene radio market were also employed as KLSR VJs (video jockeys) or announcers at different times: A.J. Fenrich, Robert Ragsdale, Billy Pilgrim, Bob Bosche, Dennis Nakata, and others.
     When the Fox network came into existence, KLSR provided the perfect opportunity for the fledgling fourth network to establish itself in the Eugene television market.
     Fox network programs appealed to a younger audience. And when there were no Fox network shows to broadcast, KLSR could always fall back on its music video format to fill the off hours. The music videos, in general, disappeared from KLSR long ago. But some programs, such as the Country Comfort country music program hosted by Bob Bosche on the weekends, lasted well into the nineties.
     But change is a part of television. MTV isn't the only channel to abandon its original mission. VH-1 (which I used to like more than MTV because it showed more music videos than MTV) has given way to other programs. Remember, the VH stands for "video hits!" And, it's difficult to still think of CMT (Country Music Television) as a music video channel when they now air re-runs of The Dukes Of Hazard and other shows.
     Then there was TNN, The Nashville Network, which changed its name several years ago to The National Network, in favor of more mainstream programs. No, TNN was not an exclusive music channel, but neither are any of the other above-mentioned channels that claim to be all music.
     Todd Wels from the Daily Courier asked if he were the only one missing the M in MTV? No, I miss it as well. But because I never watch the channel anyway, I guess I don't even care.