Viacom Cutbacks Won't Deflate MTV Ball

A spokeswoman for MTV Networks said Thursday that the company’s layoffs and restructurings had not derailed plans to co-host an inaugural bal in Washington next monthl.
 
MTV announced last week that it was joining with ServiceNation to host the Be The Change Inaugural Ball Jan. 20. The ball will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and feature MTV artists, celebrities and government officials, as well as hundreds of young people. The Ball will be televised live on various MTV platforms.
 
"It is still planned for the 20th," said MTV spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas. "A lot of the people who are going to be at the ball were kids who were doing volunteerism and service work throughout the community." ServiceNation promotes volunteerism through community and national service, proposals President-elect Barack Obama has advocate.
 
MTV on Thursday announced a corporate restructuring and a cut of 850 jobs across all units, including MTV, as it struggles with the rest of the media and country to cope with the deepening financial crisis.