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MTV Looks to Hire 'Twitter Jockey,' Confirming the Death of MTV

by Amar Toor on June 14, 2010 at 06:15 PM

mtv logo and twitter birdBack when MTV actually played music videos, the network created an entirely new job title called the 'Veejay.' Basic requirements to fulfill the job included good looks, an ability to read cue cards, and a willingness to accept your inevitable irrelevance within three years. But now that MTV has become less music and more television, network execs have decided to reprise the media personality once again -- by introducing something it's calling a 'Twitter Jockey,' or TJ.

Unlike their VJ predecessors, TJs will man MTV's Twitter decks, occasionally pop up on TV, and serve as some sort of easily identifiable liaison between fans and network execs. According to the AP, MTV will host a series of online challenges this summer in order to determine the lucky tweeter. Dave Sirulnik, the exec in charge of the competition, says that the ideal Twitter Jockey "will be dynamic, engaging and energized," and someone who "will represent the audience by taking their thoughts and questions." The network has already chosen 18 people, and is now asking fans to nominate friends or Facebook contacts for the remaining two slots. The finalists go head-to-head on August 8th, with viewers, of course, deciding who prevails.

It's still unclear what will exactly constitute the competition, but, as Geekosystem observes, it's pretty hard to think of too many telegenic challenges involving something as sedentary as Twitter. More shocking is the fact that MTV is reportedly willing to pay the winner a six-figure salary. That's right. Six-figures for tweeting, and occasionally showing up on TV. We hardly question MTV when it comes to reality television, and the idea of turning faceless communications workers into bite-sized celebrities is kind of interesting. But we also suspect that the gimmick will only leave us more reminiscent for the good ol' days of Downtown Julie Brown -- and, therefore, leave us feeling old. [From: AP, via: Geekosystem]

Tags: competition, competitions, facebook, MTV, music, RealityTv, SocialNetworking, television, tj, tjs, top, twitter, twitter jockey, TwitterJockey, vj

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