The Other VJ's
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Chris
Connelly |
| Chris Connelly began his journalism career in 1980, when he was hired by Rolling Stone as a part-time receptionist. Fourteen months later, he was given the magazine's Random Notes column, which he wrote for the next four years. While at Rolling Stone, he interviewed and wrote cover stories for Madonna, Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, Sean Penn, U2, and Mick Jagger, among others. He moved to US Magazine after Rolling Stone bought it in 1985; there, he served as managing editor before joining Premiere in 1987. His association with MTV began in April of 1988, with the creation of "The Big Picture." He wrote and hosted more than 250 episodes of the show -- and was given almost as many different hairdos by a series of baffled, but well-meaning stylists. Those he interviewed include: Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Winona Ryder, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Martin Scorsese, and many, many more. He co-anchored MTV's live, round-the-clock coverage of Woodstock '94 and '99. For two weeks he served as a substitute for "Later with Bob Costas"; he has performed similar chores for Jim Rome's ESPN2 live sports show, Talk2. At the request of some seriously deluded producers, Connelly agreed to play himself in "The Bodyguard" and "Last Action Hero." In addition, he has appeared on numerous other TV programs, including "Late Night with David Letterman," "Oprah," "Donahue," "Geraldo," "Nightline," "CBS This Morning," "Good Morning America," and "Today" -- on which Connie Chung asked him how he would feel if his son came home from school wearing a dress. Born and raised in New York City, Connelly graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1978. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Gretchen, and their children, Henry and Rose. He cannot drive. |
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John
Norris |
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John Norris is an MTV News correspondent, responsible for covering music, entertainment and pop culture news. His duties include writing and developing news stories, interviewing celebrities, and on-air hosting. Throughout 1996, he contributed regular reports to MTV's "Choose Or Lose '96" political awareness campaign. Norris first joined the MTV News department in New York in 1986 to write music and entertainment news segments for the MTV VJs. When Kurt Loder joined MTV in 1988 as News Anchor, Norris was appointed Kurt's alternate. He filled in for Kurt as host of MTV's hourly news reports and "Week In Rock." In 1990, he began delivering the news on MTV's morning show, "Awake On The Wild Side," where he attracted a loyal following of fans. Norris is a graduate of New York University where he majored in Broadcast Journalism. He is a native of Houston. |
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Serena
Altschul |
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As an MTV News Reporter, Serena Altschul's responsibilities include developing and writing news stories, conducting interviews, and on-camera hosting. Based in New York City, Altschul hosts MTV's hourly news reports which cover everything from music and pop culture to social issues and politics. Altschul is also the host of "MTV News: Unfiltered," an innovative viewer driven news program. In 1996, Altschul contributed numerous stories to MTV's "Choose Or Lose '96" political awareness campaign. Prior to joining MTV News in January 1996, Altschul spent two years as an anchor/reporter for Channel One News, formerly Whittle Communications. During her tenure there, Altschul covered a wide variety of hard news stories in the U.S. and abroad. Altschul has also produced a political feature documentary called "The Last Party." This film about the 1992 Presidential Election was released in theatres around the country. Altschul grew up in New York City. |
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Kurt
Loder |
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Author and former Rolling Stone editor Kurt Loder is MTV News' Anchor. As MTV's chief news correspondent, his responsibilities include celebrity interviews, in-depth coverage of the music scene and writing and reporting the MTV News updates seen each hour. Loder is the host of MTV News 1515, MTV's weekly program that takes a look at music, entertainment and pop culture issues. He also anchored "Week In Rock" and "MTV News Presents," a weekly showcase for MTV News special programming. He also hosts numerous MTV News specials covering a wide array of subjects relevant to young people, including "Straight Dope," "Hate Rock," "The Cult Question," and "Smashed." Raised in New Jersey, Loder lived in Europe for several years, working as a journalist and, occasionally, a musician. Returning to the States, he wound up as an editor at Circus Magazine in the late seventies, and in 1979, moved to Rolling Stone. (Much of his other work for that magazine is featured in Rolling Stone Interviews Of The Eighties, a book which he also annotated.) He has been a contributing editor to both Rolling Stone and Esquire, and is a member of the nominating committee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. |