Free Republic

Americans of color to the rescue? That’s how MTV‘s Ana Marie Cox sees it. Appearing on today’s Morning Joe, Cox said: “I feel like if Hillary Clinton wins in the fall, it will be because the black and brown people of America have saved us, like they do a lot of time.” Cox, perhaps best known as founder of the Wonkette blog, was preceded on set by Marcela Valdes of the New York Times, whose recent article noted the lack of political engagement in Latino culture [emphasis added]: “through all my conversations, I began to fear the real roots of...

Are you sure you want your MTV? On its 35th birthday, a quick glimpse at the network shows it’s hardly what it once was. While change isn’t always easy... it’s not always needed either. What started as a network dedicated to airing music videos and sharing insight on the topic has transformed into a smorgasbord of reality shows that teens who listen to Justin Bieber are glued to. It’s a far cry from the station’s days of “120 Minutes” and “Daria” and Kurt Loder staring into your soul telling you what you needed to know at the top of every...

<p>It's 2016, which means the 90s are officially a 'classic' era. (Just take Detroit's newest 'throwback' station 105.1 for example.) And since youthful millennials can't get enough of high-waisted shorts and neon, the media overlords at Viacom have made the wise decision to switch VH1 Classic — which primarily broadcast a variety of mainstream rock/adult hits (whatever that means) mix of videos and concerts from the 70s through the mid-1990s (before they went to shit) — to MTV Classic.</p>

On Friday night, BET and MTV convened an hour-long, commercial-free townhall on police-involved shootings of African-Americans with only distant mentions of what transpired the night before in Dallas but focused heavily on denigrating law enforcement as hunters and “a gang” meant to terrorize blacks from America’s founding, the need for white people to recognize privilege, and lobby for the defunding of police nationwide. Aside from a brief discussion with a former New York City detective, the so-called “historic” conversation was anything but in its one-sided, anti-police rhetoric that even went as far as to suggest the media at large weren’t...

MTV is urging viewers to pinpoint politicians who want teachers to be armed for self-defense–and then vote those politicians out of office. In a video segment called “The Racket,” MTV pointed out that the state of Tennessee recently enacted a law to become the tenth state to adopt legislation allowing teachers to be armed for self-defense. Then the network ridiculed the sponsor of that legislation, Representative Andy Holt (R-Dresden), for saying he would “like to see 100 percent removal of all gun-free zones in public places.”

Apparently MTV broadcasts a show called "16 and Pregnant," in which each show tracks a pregnant teen-ager through the final months of pregnancy, and then through birth and the immediate period afterward. Although I fear the show will remain unseen by me, it is apparently watched by enough teenagers that all by itself it put a dent in the US teen birth rate. Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine tell the story in "Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV's 16 and Pregnant on Teen Childbearing," in a recent issue of the American Economic Review (105:12,...

DES MOINES — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and actress Ellen Page, of “Juno” fame, got into a testy and free-wheeling discussion Friday over gay rights here at the Iowa State Fair. “I’m happy to answer your question but not to have a back-and-forth debate,” Cruz told Page, as she pressed him about discrimination against LGBT citizens, approaching him as he flipped pork chops over an open grill. But the two then proceeded to have a spirited exchange over gay rights and whether private businesses — florist companies, for example —can refuse to cater gay weddings in the name of their...

EXCLUSIVE: Tech company which maintained Hillary's secret server was sued for 'illegally accessing' database and 'stealing White House military advisers' phone numbers' The Internet company used by Hillary Clinton to maintain her private server was sued for stealing dozens of phone lines including some which were used by the White House. Platte River Networks is said to have illegally accessed the master database for all US phone numbers. It also seized 390 lines in a move that created chaos across the US government. Among the phone numbers which the company took - which all suddenly stopped working - were lines...

Viacom is vulnerable in that many of its networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Spike, target youngsters — “the segment of the population that’s most rapidly and definitively abandoning linear TV,” according to the analyst.

As we all remember, the media completely freaked out after the Supreme Court decided Citizens United in favor of free speech. Taking aim primarily at the right-leaning Koch Brothers, the media posed as defenders of democracy against the corrupting influence of outside money in politics. As usual, the facts prove that the media are big fat liars. Although legions of left-wing corporations like NBC News, Politico, MSNBC, CNN, CBS News, ABC News, The Washington Post, LA Times, NPR, PBS, Univision, Comedy Central, MTV, HBO, and ESPN spend billions of dollars pushing a political agenda 24/7, the left-wing media want a...

A trailer for MTV’s latest documentary debuted this week, and like a great deal of the network’s previous programming, White People and its illegal immigrant director seem ready to bring the drama. Following shows like Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, and 16 and Pregnant, the network’s latest dive into the exploration of cultural issues asks a group of white millennials to explain their “whiteness,” and includes tearful discussions of white privilege and the role it plays in their lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning filmmaker and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas, who is in the country illegally, directed White People, and traveled all over...

The concept sounds ridiculous, but the documentary comes from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. He covered the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, so he presumably knows how to package difficult subject matter. This is MTV, but there’s no better time for a discussion on race than right now. Will these young white people learn from their experiences during filming? Vargas will force them “to internalize what they’ve done in America.” We’ll find out when White People premiers on MTV on July 22.

Discomfort has a name, and it’s MTV’s White People. The network is serious about its newest documentary from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who won the prize for covering the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. White People tackles the hot topic conversation of white privilege head-on in a special presentation borne out of MTV’s Emmy-winning Look Different campaign. The doc premieres on July 22 on MTV and follows five young white people from around the country, exploring their notions of racial identity in modern America. Watch the trailer—did we mention it’s uncomfortable?—below:

On June 2 HBO, MTV, and a host of celebrities will be joining Michael Bloomberg and other pro-gun control groups to watch participating mayors proclaim “Gun Violence Awareness Day” in their cities. Those participating will “wear orange” and MTV will “change its on-air logo — as well as several of its social media avatars — to orange in recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.” According to PRNewsWire, participating celebrities–aka, “cultural influencers”–include: Julianne Moore, Russell Simmons, Sarah Silverman, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, Aasif Mandvi,Alyssa Milano, Padma Lakshmi, John Hodgman, Amanda Peet, Perez Hilton, Melissa Joan Hart, Tiffani Thiessen, Tunde Adebimpe...

ROUND 7 - THE FINAL - OF THE '80S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, March 15 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. The Final Pair! Vote for your favorite! No reply, no vote. A tie will be broken with a run-off which will end (hopefully) the following Monday.

ROUND 6 OF THE '80S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, March 8 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. The Final 4 in just 2 pairs of songs! Vote for your favorite of each pair shown. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from any pairs.) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end (hopefully) the following Monday.

ROUND 5 OF THE '80S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, March 1 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. The Great 8 in just 4 pairs of songs! Vote for your favorite of each pair shown. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from any pairs.) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end (hopefully) the following Monday. Format: Yearly rank/seed - year - song title - act

ROUND 4 OF THE '80S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, Feb 22 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. Sweet 16 in 8 pairs of songs! Vote for your favorite of each pair shown. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from any pairs.) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end the following Monday. Format: Yearly rank/seed - year - song title - act

We have a TIE from Round 3 to BREAK! (What is it with 1983? No one seems to be able to separate the songs!) #4 1983 "Down Under” Men at Work versus #1 1983 "Every Breath You Take" Police

ROUND 3 OF THE '80S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, Feb 15 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. Sweet 16 pairs of songs! Vote for your favorite in each pair shown. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from any pairs.) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end the following Monday. Format: Yearly rank/seed - year - song title - act