Paramount Guts History To Save Money And We All Suffer From Their Cheapness

So often in the last decade, whenever a major media company says it will engage in “cost cutting,” it’s the writers, editors, photojournalists, producers, etc. who bear the greatest brunt of these decisions, as opposed to the well-paid executives making them. 

In a recent town hall, Paramount’s “Office of the CEO” — a made-up title given to co-chief executives George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins so they can do a job typically done by one person — shared plans for how the troubled company would save half a billion dollars in costs amid “unforgivable” profit drops.

The debt-saddled Paramount has been the subject of merger or sales talks for several months. But after the proposed deal with its best known suitor, David Ellison’s Skydance (now apparently back on), fell apart, the three men sought to assuage concerns about the direction of the company.

“We know what a difficult and disruptive period it has been,” Robbins explained to those in attendance. “And while we cannot say that the noise will disappear, we are here today to lay out a go-forward plan that can set us up for success no matter what path the company chooses to go down.”

Part of that path included gutting the websites of the company’s best known cable assets.

The day before this meeting took place, Paramount quietly took down MTVNews.com — and with it, more than 25 years worth of content.

Granted, as a news organization, MTV News had been shuttered since 2023, but the site still maintained thousands of articles, columns, interviews, and features, showcasing a bevy of different artists and producers spanning several genres and generations. It also includes a litany of social and political journalism from perspectives that, at the time they were published, arguably couldn’t have been found anywhere else in mainstream media.

I was once an intern at MTV News, and years later, served as a columnist for the site. I don’t like my hard work being scrubbed as if it never existed, but admittedly, I’m used to it by now. Paramount did this same thing to the archives of BET News, where I have also contributed, some years back.

Other news organizations have at times similarly taken down their content. Even so, what Paramount has done to the MTV News archives is depressing.

As is what Paramount did the day after the town hall: The company purged even more content from several of its cable channels including Comedy Central, Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT.

The content still on the sites run by Nickelodeon, BET and VH1, they are safe for now — but in lieu of Paramount’s merger deal going awry, it’s likely that BET and VH1 will be put back on the market, and with them, their online archives. Who knows what will happen then.

Of the sites going dark, a rep for Paramount told IndieWire: “As part of broader website changes across Paramount, we have introduced more streamlined versions of our sites, driving fans to Paramount+ to watch their favorite shows.”

Problem is, shows like “The Colbert Report” and “The Nightly Show” are nowhere to be found on Paramount+, while for others, like “The Daily Show,” only the most recent seasons are available to watch. For other still shows, like “South Park,” you actually need to head over to a different streaming service entirely to view any of its 26 seasons. 

By now consumers have learned the reality that streaming platforms don’t provide an infinite amount of content in exchange for their subscription fees. But the decimation of MTVNews.com is bigger than just the lack of opportunity to stream old shows online.

Understandably, this move has frustrated a number of MTV News alums whose work was purged from the internet without warning.

As former MTV News editor Patrick Hosken put it: “Eight years of my life are gone without a trace. All because it didn’t fit some executives’ bottom lines. Infuriating is too small a word.”

I share the frustration.

But it’s not just that people’s hard work is being removed from the internet  that’s troubling. As a fan of music and news, I worry about the impact this kind of decision will have with respect to preserving history. I have cited so much of MTV News’ journalism in my own work — but before that, as someone who just liked to read about music and politics, MTV News was essential.

The site and its archive may well be gone forever, and with it, a lot of knowledge lost. 

Not to count another corporation’s money, but digital storage is much cheaper than it used to be. How much money could Paramount have really saved by doing this? I can’t imagine it’s a figure anywhere close the $12 billion in debt the company must pay off. 

Some have speculated what might happen to MTV News’ digital archive. Perhaps the company will see its value and sell it. I’m not so certain of that. I don’t have much faith in any major corporation valuing entertainment history as much as its stock price.

At this point, I don’t put it past a majority of media conglomerates to throw all their contributors’ hard work in the trash and not blink twice.

Even in an era when nostalgia has changed the habits of consumers, corporations will seemingly always value saving a few cents.

As disappointing as it is, MTV would rather be known for their endless re-airing of ”Ridiculousness” than what made it the cultural behemoth it once was — like its music and political journalism.

MTV News was a respected news organization and not just “content.” We know most media executives don’t care, but damn, they should. It’s irresponsible not to care.

My advice to those that have their work online: Save as much of it as possible. Sometimes you think you have more time than you actually have. Trust me, I know firsthand.

I already knew the internet was no longer the place where everything stays up forever. But I continue to be equally confused and angered by how willing some entities are to set their own material on fire to save pennies on the dollar, the consequences or their own cheapness be damned.