Kurt Loder is the famously somber talking head behind MTV news. He is also an author, film critic, and outspoken libertarian.

Loder was born in Ocean City, New Jersey in 1945. After a brief stint in college—which he hated—Loder was drafted in the US Army. He studied journalism at the Army University, and after his three year tenure spent a number of years traveling through Europe. Upon his return home in ‘72, Loder worked at a local paper and an Ocean City magazine before moving on to Good Times Magazine — a free rock weekly—in ‘76. Loder had a major bromance with music buff David Fricke, and he spent much of his time away from his wife, delving into the seedy punk rock scene flourishing in New York City in the late 70's. Both Fricke and Loder were given positions at Circus magazine, a filter feeder directly into Rolling Stone, and relocated to Manhattan. From ‘78-'79 Loder became an official editor at Circus magazine, but quickly decamped to Rolling Stone, becoming one of the most prolific feature writers of the 80's, many calling his tenure at the music mag "legendary."

Loder joined MTV in 1987 as the host of their program This Week in Rock, later renamed MTV News. Loder's news bulletins became staples of music television in the ‘90s—he was one of the first to report on the suicide of Kurt Cobain in 1994. Loder is the author of three books including: I, Tina (a memoir he co-authored with Tina Turner), Bat Chain Puller: Rock and Roll in the Age of Celebrity, and most recently The Good, the Bad and the Godawful: 21st-Century Movie Reviews.

Loder is also a vocal member of the libertarian party, and after his tenure at MTV writes movie reviews for the libertarian mag, Reason. He is married, and lives in NYC.