I Want My MTV

YOU WANT YOUR MTV: I Want My MTV, Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum’s “Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution,” doesn’t officially come out until Thursday, but insiders are already buzzing about the oral history, which does for music television what Fredric Dannen's Hit Men did for indie promotion, Fred Goodman's Mansion on the Hill for the ‘70s music business and Dan Charnas' The Big Payback for hip-hop. One of the great stories is from MTV founder John Lack, who recalls a network-saving arrangement he cut with Ted Turner, trading him a satellite transponder for the right to handle bundled ad sales for CNN and MTV. Lack said the deal was sealed when the media mogul cracked out his trusty corn cob pipe. “Turner always had good weed,” remembers Lack. “He lit the thing, took a puff and put it in my mouth. ‘Let me see the whites of your eyes, big boy.’ I smoked. He said, ‘We’re in business.’” (10/24p)