Martha Quinn was one of MTV’s five original video jockeys when the U.S. channel launched in 1981.
Quinn joined Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, and J. J. Jackson as the network’s first on-air presenters. Their role was to introduce music videos, interview artists, and give the new cable channel a recognizable human presence.
Quinn became especially associated with MTV’s early pop-music coverage and remained one of its best-known original VJs. The term “VJ” combined “video” and “jockey,” echoing the older radio term “disc jockey.”
A common mix-up is confusing MTV’s original U.S. VJs with later hosts such as Carson Daly or Kennedy. Quinn was part of the launch-era team, before programs such as Total Request Live and MTV News became major parts of the network’s identity.