, Guest Columnist
MTV’s Ananda Lewis Brought Journalism to a New Generation
Through her work on the network’s show “TRL” and BET’s “Teen Summit,” she stirred a passion for current events among young audiences — which is sorely lacking today.
Now the field is saturated with online influencers.
Photographer: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images North AmericaAnanda Lewis’ death hits a little differently.
It was hard to determine why at first. The online reaction to her passing began with the typical outpouring of “RIP” and remarks about her work as the veejay and host of seminal ‘90s and early aughts pop culture series, such as BET’s Teen Summit and MTV’s Total Request Live. Then the feeling came into sharper focus: She stirred a passion for journalism and current events among her young audiences — and that’s sorely lacking today.