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MTV will suspend programming, beginning at 10 p.m. on January 10th, for seventeen-and-a-half-hours in order to mourn the deaths of hundreds of victims of hate crimes.
Instead of regular programming, MTV will air a non-stop commercial-free loop featuring the names of victims of hate crimes. The nearly three-hour scroll will repeat six times, according to the channel, ending January 11th at 3:30 p.m.
The inspiration for the programming moratorium was initiated when MTV began work on its made-for-TV production, Anatomy of a Hate Crime, about the 1998 torture and murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, which inspired the Melissa Etheridge tribute "Scarecrow."
The original drama will kick off the channel's year-long "Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination" campaign, in which MTV will also work with several civil organizations to attempt to inspire viewers to take action against all types of discriminations. MTV also plans to enlist artists who are moved by the issue to make a plea on the behalf of the cause.
JAAN UHELSZKI
(January 6, 2001)