Reality TV: THR's 50 Most Powerful List

“If I’m not making reality shows, all I want to do is watch them,” admits Salsano, 38. Storage Wars, Ice Road Truckers ... she loves it all. And why not? She created a monster hit in Jersey Shore and turned mock-worthy Snooki and The Situation into cultural icons.

PHOTOS: THR's 2012 Reality Power List

The Long Island native who started as an intern at The Howard Stern Show champions the underdog: “In my shows, people aren’t afraid to say, ‘This is who I am!’ or ‘This is what I do and I’m proud of it!’ ” On her current slate? Shore spinoffs The Pauly D Show and Snooki and JWoww, MTV’s Friend Zone, Oxygen’s Tanesha’s Getting Married, TV Guide’s Nail Files and Repo Games, in which people get a chance to win back their cars.

COMPLETE LIST: THR's 2012 Reality Power List

“You never know what’s the next big idea, so you have to take a lot of swings,” she says.