31/12/2025
MTV provided a powerful pivotal moment. It wasn’t just music. It connected music, politics, identity, and belonging for an entire generation across Europe. I was lucky to be part of it — not just as a presenter, but as a co-creator of how culture, news, and music were presented to millions of young people at a time when such platforms were still rare. The influence was enormous — not only musically, but also in television, design, storytelling, and branding. MTV made songs visual; artists became brands with their own look, story, and identity. Music stars gained an aura — almost like Hollywood legends. Much of that was conveyed in three-minute videos. MTV changed the visual language: fast cuts, bold typography, new transitions. That style still resonates today in advertising, film, and social media. Through modern presentation, hosting became more personal — opinion, reaction, dialogue with the audience. Formats like MTV Unplugged, Yo! MTV Raps, or even the early reality shows that broke the rules, set new standards. And MTV News which I was a part of, had a huge impact: without that, today’s entertainment journalism in many forms probably wouldn’t exist. Personally I am not nostalgic about MTV, but I remain grateful to all my former colleagues, and to the personalities I interviewed. The end of MTV as a music channel was inevitable. For at least 20 years, since the advent of YouTube, it had ceased to play any role in shaping the musical tastes of young people. MTV, in the end, was the titan that became the Titanic. At first, it was the ship that could never sink. For the Titanic, a collision with an iceberg was enough to destroy it. For MTV it took multiple bad decisions, hitting one iceberg after another until it fell into insignificance, and now I fear, without the core of its existence, total obscurity.
