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No.156 SIM音読用英文

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MTV Turns 25
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MTV, the U.S. based music television channel,

aired its first program 25 years ago.

Since then it has added more than 50 channels

in 28 languages and 168 countries,

becoming a global communications phenomenon.

"I can attest to that,

having my wife (is) from India and I have been back there seven times.

And MTV not only broadcasts on an Indian channel,

it has also spawned imitators."

Ray McDonald covers the music industry

for the Voice of America.

He says its cultural influence over the past 25 years has been
extraordinary.

"MTV has become the look

of modern American pop culture.

It has affected our buying patterns.

It has affected the clothes we buy.

It has affected youth culture, top to bottom.

And that is MTV's greatest strength, its brand integrity."

MTV started off just playing music videos,

but today it devotes more airtime to other types of programming,

including news and drama.

Many credit MTV with starting the reality television craze,

a form of programming much in demand among younger viewers.

That move reflects MTV's understanding

that many in its audience today were not even born

when it first went on the air in 1981.

"MTV is number one

among 12 to 24-year-old viewers.

These are people

for whom Madonna, Michael Jackson are ancient history.”

Those nostalgic for MTV as it once was

will undoubtedly remember famous live performances

such as this one from 1984, by a then new-to-the-scene Madonna.

Its Video Music Awards have provided the backdrop

for some of modern music's most iconic moments.

But MTV's stronghold on the music video audience

is now facing serious challenges,

says VOA's Ray McDonald.

"MTV faces 21st century competition such as YouTube,

which is an Internet site

that carries videos of all kinds.

And as a matter of fact, Viacom ‥ MTV's parent company ‥

their stock has dropped about 20 percent this year

on perceived fears that these competitors are cutting into
MTV's advertising."

MTV has been low-key about its birthday this week –

preferring to focus on a youth audience,

the demographic that has always defined its most fanatic followers.

George Dwyer, VOA News.
(Material is provided courtesy of voanews.com.)
by danueno | 2006-08-09 15:40 | SIM音読用英文


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