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Articles by Tom Freston
Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu|Hardcover
A freewheeling and riveting memoir from media honcho Tom Freston that takes us behind the scenes of his global adventures—from hitchhiking around the world, to running a clothing export company out of India and Afghanistan, to cofounding MTV, to becoming CEO of MTV Networks, then CEO of Viacom, then later returning to work in Africa and Afghanistan. Tom Freston’s path to the C-suite was decidedly non-traditional.
November 15, 2025 - Air Mail
Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley Ashley Baker Ash Carter Elena Clavarino George Pendle Carolina de Armas Jeanne Malle Paulina Prosnitz Dana Brown Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Spike Carter Vassi Chamberlain William D.
An Excerpt From Tom Freston's Memoir, "Unplugged"
It was December 2010, and I was in Brooklyn. Shane Smith waved his hand, motioning me to his table in the Hotel Delmano, a low-lit hipster saloon in Williamsburg. Three shots of tequila were arranged in front of an empty seat. “Say hello to your three little friends,” Shane announced. “Drink those, and we’ll talk.” Shane, the 41-year-old cofounder and C.E.O. of Vice, wanted to rekindle our relationship.
‘MTV Was a Lot Like Kabul’
Cyndi Lauper leading the crowd at the first MTV New Year’s Eve party at Times Square. The news that MTV is shutting down its music channels does not come as a surprise to me. Starting in 1986, I ran MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and other cable TV networks for 17 years as the CEO of MTV Networks, the sun in Viacom’s solar system. It hasn’t been that for a while. MTV has been losing credibility for years, and it’s devolved into a dumping ground for B-grade reality shows.
How “I Want My MTV” Saved the Network From an Early Grave
By the summer of 1982, MTV was in desperate straits. We were still big in Oklahoma, but few other cable companies were adding MTV to their lineups. In American business, if you ain’t growing, you’re dying. We were in danger of being shut down if we couldn’t convince more cable guys to carry us before the money ran out.
"The Islander" Memoir by Chris Blackwell, Island Records Founder: Tom Freston Reviews
The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond by Chris Blackwell with Paul Morley One night in 1958, a 21-year-old Chris Blackwell went with a friend to see the Miles Davis Quintet at Café Bohemia, in Greenwich Village. Afterward, he wrangled his way into a small, smoky backstage room to meet both Davis and John Coltrane. Davis took a liking to the young, white Jamaican, and they began to hang out. One night, watching Blackwell moving his leg unconsciously up and down to music, he scolded him.
I Want My MTV!
On the 40th anniversary of the music-television channel, one of its co-founders remembers the songs that started it all July 31, 2021 Reading Time: 2 minutes Forty years ago tomorrow, August 1, a small band of misfits pulled a trigger at midnight in a New Jersey bar and MTV came into the world. Say what you want about it, but MTV grew to have a profound impact on music, art, movies, fashion, culture, and even haircuts. Not just in the United States but all over the world.
Tracking 40 Years of Christiania, Copenhagen’s 85-Acre “Free Zone” (and Cannabis Market)
A mural adorns a wall in Copenhagen’s “free zone” of Christiania. Founded in 1971, the 84-acre enclave is perhaps the largest and longest-lasting commune in history. Last June the British lifestyle magazine Monocle called Copenhagen “the World’s Most Livable City.” It cited Copenhagen’s “world class design, gastronomy, culture, innovative city planning, and green sustainable lifestyle.” There is not much rotten in Denmark these days, and it’s hard not to love Copenhagen.
Not Kipling's Burma – Air Mail
A Savage Dreamland: Journeys in Burma by David Eimer Burma has long been the crazy uncle in the attic of Southeast Asia. Reports these days are more mixed, but when there are two names for your country, it’s not a good sign. Which is it? Burma or Myanmar?
August 31, 2019 - Air Mail
(Red) Scare The only thing prospering in Kazungula is the AIDS pandemic With its crocodiles, hippos, and cobras, the Zambezi River in Southern Africa makes for a secure border. Swimming is verboten, and there are few bridges to cross. What you need is a boat.
Tom Freston's Lifelong Love for India
One recent afternoon, the lobby of New Delhi’s Imperial hotel was buzzing with Indian businessmen in Italian suits and well-heeled tourists in khaki safari clothing.
In the War of Music vs. Terror, Bet on Music
A few weeks after 9/11, I took the artist and actress Anna Deavere Smith to a U2 concert at Madison Square Garden. She was not really a rock fan and did not know much about U2, but, like me, she was looking for a little communion with fellow New Yorkers. The city was still traumatized, and U2 was one of the first big bands to come to town and play a full show. That show turned out to be a barn burner-a collective catharsis and a celebration of defiance.
Time Traveling in Marrakech
Marrakech, like Timbuktu or Kathmandu, is a city whose name conjures the faraway and exotic. These are otherworldly places that we know little about. When you go to Marrakech, in Morocco, you get a great sense of its long history as a gateway to the Sahara. Its recent history is harder to get a handle on. Stroll along a section of the Rue Dar el Glaoui, deep in city’s medina, and you’ll come across a long wall, tall and wide.
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