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RadioWest and Utah Film Center have partnered to present the best in documentary filmmaking. We talk with established and new directors who are changing the way audiences see the world and then screen their films.

Through The Lens: I Want My MTV

Image of film cover.
CREDIT: CANDY KUGEL

Few people were watching in August 1981 when MTV debuted on cable television. Filmmakers Patrick Waldrop and Tyler Measom have made a film about the birth and evolution of the television network that revolutionized the culture.

RadioWest divider.

If you were one of the few people in America who had cable TV in 1981, and you happened to be watching on August 1, you may have seen the start of something big. There was a broadcast of a space shuttle taking off. A man landed on the moon. And then, there was a music video. It was the birth of MTV. Filmmakers Patrick Waldrop and Tyler Measom have made a film about the birth and evolution of the television network that revolutionized music, fashion, video, and the very nature of celebrity.

Note: RadioWest is on a short hiatus, but we will still be airing our monthly documentary film series shows throughout the summer. Tune in to this one-hour special on Friday, June 14, at 1 p.m. or Sunday, June 16, at 12 p.m.

On Wednesday, June 19, we’re hosting a free screening of Patrick Waldrop and Tyler Measom's documentary film I Want My MTV at 7 p.m. at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in downtown Salt Lake City. It’s part of our Through the Lens series, our partnership with the Utah Film Center. Co-director Tyler Measom will be there for a post-film Q&A with Doug Fabrizio.

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.