Dave Sirulnick

Dave Sirulnick (born May 26, 1964) is an American television producer.

Sirulnick grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey,[1] where he attended Teaneck High School[2] and became involved with booking musicians such as LL Cool J, Run DMC, and Salt-N-Pepa at The Rink, a roller rink in nearby Bergenfield. He later attended Rutgers University. After graduating, he was hired as a news producer at CNN, like his father who was also a television producer.[3]

In 1987, he joined MTV, saying they "wanted someone to grow their news department. It's what I wanted my whole life: TV, music and news".[4] He eventually became the executive vice president for Multiplatform Production, News and Music at MTV.[1] Sirulnick's responsibilities included oversight of MTV's signature show, Total Request Live.[5] Half of MTV's programming had been within his job functions.[6] He was the chief architect of the MTV Video Music Awards.[7] In March 2015, he and others were dismissed from their positions at MTV by Viacom, the parent corporation.[8]

As of January 2019, Sirulnick is a partner at RadicalMedia.[9]

  1. ^ a b Kennedy, Randy. "The Shorter, Faster, Cruder, Tinier TV Show", The New York Times Magazine, May 28, 2006. Accessed June 28, 2007. "But Sirulnick comes by his knowledge of hip-hop as honestly as his knowledge of television. Raised in Teaneck, N.J., he became obsessed with rap in junior high school when some of its first hits were starting to emerge from Sugar Hill Records in nearby Englewood, New Jersey."
  2. ^ "Sharing a part in a student play", The Record, December 4, 1981. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Two actors are sharing the role of the stage manager in the Teaneck High School production of Our Town.... The cast of 48 includes Suzanne Doyle and David Sirulnick as Mr. and Mrs. Webb..."
  3. ^ Block, Valerie. “40 Under 40 - Dave Sirulnick.” Crain's New York Business, January 1, 2000, www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/dave-sirulnick.
  4. ^ Valarie Block, "Where Is Dave Sirulnick Now?", Crain's, October 12, 2012.
  5. ^ Interview: David Sirulnick. Frontline (US TV series). Accessed June 28, 2007.
  6. ^ Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "35 Under 35", New York, April 17, 2000. Accessed June 28, 2007. "14 Dave Sirulnick, producer. The 35-year-old executive VP of production at MTV is now in charge of half of the station's daily programming; without him, no Total Request Live."
  7. ^ Harley Brown, "Layoffs Hit MTV, VH1; Dave Sirulnick Among Exits", Billboard, March 10, 2015
  8. ^ Steinberg, Brian (March 11, 2015). "MTV News Veteran Dave Sirulnick to Depart In Wake of Viacom Restructuring". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  9. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (September 10, 2015). "MTV Alum Dave Sirulnick Joins RadicalMedia as Partner". Variety. Retrieved January 29, 2019.