CRAIG MARKS: I WANT MY MTV

On August 1, 1981 MTV was launched. It was an idea that most people thought ridiculous and doomed to failure. Most people associated with the start up of MTV, on the air and behind the scenes, had had no previous experience in the media. If that wasn’t daunting enough, when MTV started there was an incredibly slim selection of music videos to play. But it soon became obvious that MTV would play an important role in shaping the musical tastes of Middle America as well as having a dramatic impact on the artists whose videos were shown. Tune in tonight as Inquiry talks with writer and editor CRAIG MARKS. Along with writer Rob Tannebaum, Craig has written the definitive history of this music video revolution, the wild careers of the early VJs, the accusations of racism in MTVs early programming and the craziness of trying to come up with ideas for the new music vids. Marks and Tannebaum’s book is titled I WANT MY MTV: THE UNCENSORED STORY OF THE MUSIC VIDEO REVOLUTION