# Kurt Loder
**Kurt Loder** (born 1945) is an American journalist, film critic, and television personality best known as the anchor of [MTV News](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-news) and the writer and host of the weekly music news program *The Week in Rock*, positions he held from the late 1980s into the 2000s after a career as a writer and senior editor at *Rolling Stone*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517064/) • [2](https://us.macmillan.com/author/kurtloder) He is also the co-author of [Tina Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/tina-turner)'s autobiography *I, Tina*, a New York Times bestseller that became the basis for the film *What's Love Got to Do with It*.[2](https://us.macmillan.com/author/kurtloder)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517064/) |
| Print career | Editor at *Circus* magazine (1978), then nine years at *Rolling Stone* as staff feature writer and senior editor, starting with the "Random Notes" column in 1979[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) |
| Book | Co-author of Tina Turner's autobiography *I, Tina* (1986), a New York Times bestseller[2](https://us.macmillan.com/author/kurtloder) |
| MTV role | Writer and host of *The Week in Rock* for more than a decade; anchor and chief news correspondent for MTV News[2](https://us.macmillan.com/author/kurtloder) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517064/) |
| Defining moment | Interrupted MTV programming in April 1994 to announce the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-09/mtv-news-mainstay-of-90s-shuts-down-rip) |
| Film criticism | Weekly movie reviews for MTV.com beginning in 2004, collected in *The Good, the Bad, and the Godawful* (2011); later a longtime film critic for *Reason*[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) • [5](https://muckrack.com/kurt_loder) |
| Current work | Writes movie and music coverage for *Reason* and hosts *True Stories* on SiriusXM[5](https://muckrack.com/kurt_loder) |
## Early life and print career
Loder was born in Miami and spent about 17 years at the [Jersey Shore](https://www.edgepedia.org/jersey-shore) in New Jersey.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517064/) • [3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) He attended college for two years and, by his own account, hated it; he then joined the U.S. Army, serving in Bavaria, and learned what he considered the necessary basics of journalism in an Army training school that took about two months.[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) Returning home in 1972, he moved to New York, worked for a free rock-music weekly, and followed the punk-rock scene in Manhattan clubs.[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder)
In 1978 he became an editor at *Circus*, a heavy-metal magazine, and in 1979 *Rolling Stone* called him to take over its "Random Notes" column. He remained at the magazine for nine years, becoming a staff feature writer and a senior editor.[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) His 1984 *Rolling Stone* cover interview with Tina Turner, then releasing her comeback album *Private Dancer*, grew into the autobiography *I, Tina*, published in 1986 and later adapted as a film with [Angela Bassett](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bassett) in the title role.[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) His collection *Bat Chain Puller: Rock and Roll in the Age of Celebrity* followed in 1990.[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kurt-loder/good-bad-and-godawful/)
## MTV News
At the end of 1987, MTV approached Loder about television work, and he accepted the channel's offer to host a weekly news show called *The Week in Rock*; he has said he arrived at MTV in 1988.[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) • [7](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/kurt-loder) Media observers called the idea of a news show on MTV ridiculous, but the program stayed on the air for more than a decade.[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) As MTV's chief news correspondent, his duties included celebrity interviews, in-depth music coverage, and the hourly MTV News updates, and he anchored specials such as *Straight Dope*, *Hate Rock*, *The Cult Question*, and *Smashed*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517064/)
**The anchor persona.** Loder was roughly two decades older than MTV's target audience, and the network hired him precisely for that gravitas: a veteran rock journalist who brought what one Los Angeles Times columnist called a cool-professor authority to the channel.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-05-10/mtv-news-kurt-loder-the-week-in-rock-tabitha-soren-dave-holmes) On camera he was the unflappable straight man among brash VJs and rock stars, delivering reports with a bone-dry sense of humor; the New York Times called him "the [Arthur] Dimmesdale of rock."
**Breaking news.** In April 1994, Loder interrupted MTV's regular programming with a special report announcing that Nirvana's Kurt Cobain had died by suicide, sitting at a desk in the MTV studios holding a single piece of paper. For viewers under 25 that year, this was likely where they heard the news, rather than from [Tom Brokaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-brokaw) or [Peter Jennings](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jennings).[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-09/mtv-news-mainstay-of-90s-shuts-down-rip) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-05-13/mtv-news-shutting-down-correspondents) The same coverage pattern held for the deaths of [Tupac Shakur](https://www.edgepedia.org/tupac-shakur) and the Notorious B.I.G.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/09/mtv-news-layoffs/)
**Memorable moments.** At the 1995 [MTV Video Music Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-video-music-awards), Courtney Love crashed the live interview Loder was conducting with Madonna, throwing her compact and shoe onto the stage before joining the two for a rambling conversation while Loder looked on, nonplussed.[11](https://time.com/4680749/best-celebrity-feuds/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-05-13/mtv-news-shutting-down-correspondents) He also hosted the Video Music Awards pre-show and covered events such as [Live Aid](https://www.edgepedia.org/live-aid) and the Tibetan Freedom Concert.[7](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/kurt-loder)
## Later work
In 2004 Loder began writing weekly movie reviews for MTV.com, more than 200 of which were collected in *The Good, the Bad, and the Godawful: 21st-Century Movie Reviews* (St. Martin's/Griffin, 2011).[3](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder) • [12](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-64163-4) He preferred the term "movie reviewer" to "film critic," and Kirkus, while calling him one of pop culture's most knowledgeable writers, judged the collection lackluster.[6](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kurt-loder/good-bad-and-godawful/) He has since written movie and music coverage for *Reason* and hosts *True Stories* on SiriusXM, and he remains a contributing editor at *Rolling Stone*.[5](https://muckrack.com/kurt_loder) • [2](https://us.macmillan.com/author/kurtloder) He has also appeared as himself in projects including *The Simpsons* and served as a panelist on [Fox News](https://www.edgepedia.org/fox-news)' *Red Eye*.[7](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/kurt-loder)
## Legacy
MTV News, the division Loder came to define, was shut down on May 9, 2023, as part of [Paramount Media Networks](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-media-networks) layoffs that cut MTV and Showtime's domestic staff by nearly 25 percent.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-09/mtv-news-mainstay-of-90s-shuts-down-rip) Former staffers and columnists credited Loder with making a music channel's news briefs a trusted source for a generation that had no social media, with the Los Angeles Times calling him "a Cronkite for Generation X."[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-05-10/mtv-news-kurt-loder-the-week-in-rock-tabitha-soren-dave-holmes) At the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, Nirvana's Krist Novoselic said of him in an acceptance speech, "Kurt was one of one."[13](https://apnews.com/article/2b6b26f83f6f5d3bd36d0ce9824e11c0)
## References
1. [Kurt Loder, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517064/)
2. [Kurt Loder, Authors, Macmillan](https://us.macmillan.com/author/kurtloder)
3. [About Kurt Loder, Creators Syndicate](https://www.creators.com/author/kurt-loder)
4. [MTV News, which chronicled the music and politics of the '90s, shuts down, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-09/mtv-news-mainstay-of-90s-shuts-down-rip)
5. [Kurt Loder's Profile, Muck Rack](https://muckrack.com/kurt_loder)
6. [The Good, the Bad, and the Godawful, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kurt-loder/good-bad-and-godawful/)
7. [Kurt Loder, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/kurt-loder)
8. [R.I.P., MTV News, the West Beverly Blaze of the network, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-05-10/mtv-news-kurt-loder-the-week-in-rock-tabitha-soren-dave-holmes)
9. [MTV News was once essential. Former staffers explain what's been lost, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-05-13/mtv-news-shutting-down-correspondents)
10. [MTV News layoffs: The end of a nostalgic news site, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/09/mtv-news-layoffs/)
11. [The 25 Best Celebrity Feuds of All Time, Time](https://time.com/4680749/best-celebrity-feuds/)
12. [The Good, the Bad, and the Godawful, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-64163-4)
13. [Taylor Swift becomes most-awarded artist in MTV VMAs history, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/2b6b26f83f6f5d3bd36d0ce9824e11c0)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Magazines › Magazine titles by genre › Music, film, and entertainment magazines › Music journalism and criticism*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license