10 years of music reporting

By: Sara Crouse

Reporting today is about getting the facts fast. Its about getting the facts accurate though too. Breaking news is perhaps the hardest to get accurate, but reliable sources can be a reporter’s best option. One TV station, MTV, dedicated a show to getting the facts straight about new music.

Total Request Live, (TRL), is a commonly known MTV show that focuses on world-premier music videos and artist commentary on CD releases. How else would the public comprehend what the latest Miley Cyrus song is truly about? TRL provides fans with direct interviews to get the latest on Miley and many more A-list stars.

The show dedicates itself to not only showing the latest videos/interviews, but also the most popular ones. This concept of viewer voting was relatively ground breaking when TRL started 10 years ago. A viewer having the option to pick their Top 10 videos perhaps limits the public’s accessibility to a range of music though. What if the nightly news were done in the same format?

Instead, the American public relies on reporters to pick the Top 10 news stories of the day. Reporters are perhaps more credible than the everyday man in the street. Reporters strive to bring us ‘news’ and educate the public.

Whether TRL reporters are credible is debatable, but they have left an impression on the music world. The zany interviews with some of the past decade’s most famous celebrities are unforgettable. Such interviews have pushed viewers a step closer into the world of musicians.

With TRL’s recent cancellation, music lovers will have to decipher the best new music on their own. Reporters won’t be available to help us understand the latest love songs on the radio. We’ll have to become our own reporter.

As N’SYNC would have said 10 years ago, “Its tearin’ up my heart” that we’ll have to become conscious of our music tastes.