Head of MTV stepping down

Michael Sorrentino aka 'The Situation'. Photo / Supplied

MTV Networks chief executive Judy McGrath is stepping down from the company she helped turn into a pop culture icon in the three decades since she began working there as a copywriter.

McGrath, 58, is moving on "at the very top of the game with a legacy of success that stretches from the earliest days of cable television", said Philippe Dauman, the president and chief executive of Viacom, which owns MTV.

MTV has enjoyed a resurgence in the past couple of years thanks in large part to wildly popular Jersey Shore, featuring The Situation.