John Norris
MTV News Correspondent
John Norris is an MTV News correspondent based in New York. Norris is responsible for covering music and entertainment on the East Coast, as well as news on world, national political and social issues. His duties include writing and developing news stories, field reporting, interviews, on-air anchoring, and live reporting of breaking news stories, including anchoring MTV News’ live reports on the September 11 attacks and follow-up coverage in the days immediately afterward, and the channel’s live coverage as the war broke out in Iraq in 2003. Norris also conducted an exclusive sit-down interview with UN weapons inspector Hans Blix as part of the network’s war coverage.
Norris has been a part of the MTV News on air team since 1988, when he was appointed alternate to MTV News Anchor, Kurt Loder. He filled in for Kurt as host of MTV’s hourly news reports and weekly news show “The Week In Rock.” In 1990, he began delivering the news on MTV’s morning show, “Awake On The Wild Side,” where he attracted a loyal following of fans.
Since then, Norris has been a key part of MTV News’ presidential election coverage via its “Choose or Lose” political awareness campaigns. In 1996 and 2000, he served as a floor reporter at the Republican and Democratic conventions, and in 2000 he hosted MTV’s “Choose or Lose” kickoff concert on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, and moderated a town-hall style forum with presidential candidate Al Gore. In 2002, he moderated MTV’s Global Forum with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was again a key on-air presence during 2004’s “Choose or Lose: 20 Million Loud,” which successfully aimed to get 20 million voters aged 18-30 to the polls in November.
Additionally, Norris has been at the forefront of MTV’s annual “Fight For Your Rights” pro-social initiatives, serving as the host of numerous special programs addressing issues including gun violence, discrimination, and sexual health. As part of the “Fight For Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination” campaign in 2001, Norris hosted the MTV News special “Hate Crimes Considered,” which aired in conjunction with “Anatomy of a Hate Crime,” the MTV movie that explored the vicious attack and murder of college student Matthew Shepard. In 2002, he launched the “Protect Yourself” sexual health campaign by hosting MTV’s “National Sex Quiz” with the Kaiser Family Foundation. He also hosted a sexual health forum with SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.) in Punxsutawney, PA, as part of MTV’s “Protect Yourself with Good Charlotte” contest in the fall of 2003.
On the music and pop culture front, Norris has hosted a variety of MTV News special programming, including “From The Buzz Bin,” a series profiling new artists on the music scene; “Positively Global,” an MTV News Special Report featuring personal narratives from young adults around the world who are affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic; “Mariah Carey: Shining Through the Rain,” an exclusive interview with the singer about her career and personal travails; and an exclusive half hour interview with U2 from their acclaimed 2001 ‘Elevation’ tour.
In December of 2003, Norris hosted “Out in the Real World,” an MTV News Now special that examined the impact of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on “Real World New Orleans” couple Danny and Paul. Among the major stories Norris has covered in 2004 are Michael Jackson’s molestation trial, Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Vote for Change’ tour, both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and the debate over gay marriage – including anchoring a half hour MTV News Now special which revealed a telling generational divide on the issue. Perennially, Norris also serves as red carpet reporter and anchor of MTV News’ Video Music Awards and Grammy Awards live pre-shows.
Norris is a graduate of New York University where he majored in Broadcast Journalism.
