MTV Searches For Its First TJ (Twitter Jockey)
Posted by casey on 06-15-2010
Editor’s note: Ypulse readers can look forward to seeing more of Campus Editor alumna Casey Lewis’ byline popping up on Ypulse as she’ll be jumping back on board as our contributing editor.
MTV Searches For Its First TJ (Twitter Jockey)
In 1998, MTV launched a contest show called “Wanna Be a VJ.” It spanned three seasons, which is arguably longer than the first VJ winner Jesse Camp’s (pictured here) fame lasted. When music video programming fell to the wayside, the allure of the VJ was replaced by the desire to be a Teen Vogue intern (“The Hills”) or public relations girl (remember “PoweR Girls”?).
But then this past year, Alexa Chung, international girl-about-town, was named the newest VJ and brought serious cool points to the dated role. Her show ended up being canceled, but the collaboration worked well for both parties. In the past few months, Alexa has designed a collection, walked in fashion shows, and modeled on magazine covers, and MTV reestablished itself as an arbiter of all things hip. Or they’re trying to, anyway.
Yesterday the network announced a search for the first MTV TJ — short for Twitter Jockey. Higher-ups have already selected 18 of the 20 applicants, but the two remaining spots will be decided by viewers. The contestants will compete in Twitter-based challenges, and similar to “American Idol,” the winner will be decided by viewers via text message.
While I do think it’s wise of MTV to embrace social media, I’m not sure that one single Twitter voice can represent the entire brand. The network (and loyal MTV viewers, who will be making the final decisions) needs to find someone cultured, but cool. Someone who can reference Ira Glass and Snooki. It’s more than being well-versed in pop culture, though. This job is for the people who are already established social media fanatics, people who live-tweet their day and can’t grab dinner without checking into Foursquare. MTV hasn’t clearly stated what the tweeter will be used for. If it’s music, their best bet would be a cutting-edge music blogger with a lot of personality and an appreciation for The National and the Jonas Brothers alike. If it’s TV, their best bet would be a television connoisseur who watches “The Daily Show” and “Jersey Shore” with the same enthusiasm.
The contest only promises a year contract and a $100,000 salary, but post-MTV VJ-dom brings about the kind of opportunities typical of many former reality TV stars. Though Jesse Camp is now supposedly working at a pet store, Dave Holmes, the runner-up, is one of the gold stars among the former MTV personalities. He was in a few episodes of “Reno 911.” He has a tumblr that landed him on New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix. Oh, and he was was just cast in an NBC pilot.
About Casey
Casey is a freelance writer, longtime blogger, and recent journalism graduate from Missouri. At 14-years-old, she created TeenFashionista.com and continues to write about pretty dresses and pop culture there. (Now 22, she’s no longer a teen, though she often still feels like one.) Casey has written for numerous publications, interned at several magazines, including Teen Vogue, and worked as a Ypulse assistant editor and contributor. Most recently, she wrote a book about turning your dorm room into a stylish dwelling. Dorm Living, published by Globe Pequot Press.
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