During the early days of MTV there were a handful of artists that helped shaped the network into the juggernaut it would eventually become. Performers such as Madonna, Billy Idol, David Bowie, The Police, The Cars, Phil Collins … and, of course, Michael Jackson. Where the other artists mentioned helped mold the world of music videos, Michael Jackson turned them into an art form. With videos like Beat It and Thriller, Jackson gave videos substance that other performers began to emulate.
So, it wasn’t surprising that, on the the night of Jackson’s sudden death and into Friday morning, the first music video network went back to its roots and gave viewers nothing but Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and MJ videos (except for a brief moment when Pregnant at 16 aired, which probably got tons of calls from Jackson fans). The morning’s presentation of videos went smoother than the previous night’s patchwork dedication as there appeared to be more than one video per six minute commercial break.
MTV would’ve been given the stink eye if it totally ignored Jackson’s death and and maintained its core schedule of reality fare. Since a majority of those who remember watching the original airing of Thriller are still alive, not devoting some time to MJ’s passing would have been stupid. If it weren’t for those original viewers, MTV wouldn’t be airing the stuff that it airs (whatever it is).
So, thanks MTV — it’s good to see that you still have some sense of history. Dont worry, you’ll be able to get back to that marathon of Parental Control soon enough.
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on Jun 26, 2009 @ 16:00 EST5EDT
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh …. The Cars ……