Via To the People, the Boston Globe reports on the decline of MTV as a cultural institution. The article is pretty spot-on, especially in pointing out how fan culture and the Internet have eaten into its market share. But I think it misses the point when it asks, “Where is the new talent, where are the Mike Judges and Spike Jonzes, or even the new big shots like Johnny Knoxville? Why isn’t MTV snagging young Stephen Colberts?” MTV long ago ditched the snarky mid-20s set to which Colbert and the like appeal in favor of the ‘tween and frat demo that supports its endless parade of dim-and-ditzy bubblegum pop-stars and vacuous teen idols. I couldn’t tell you the exact beginning of the transition (sometime between the launch of MTV Spring Break and the breakout of the Backstreet Boys, I’d guess), but by the time Laguna Beach—possibly the most aggressively vapid television show in history—hit the air, it was all over.