.....Posted on 10/08/2014 1:01:12 PM PDT by virgil283
"Mike Rowe opens up on pay, public office and the 'skills gap'....Between Mike Rowe's television work and his philanthropic efforts with the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, Rowe holds true to one central passion: tipping his hat to those who work hard without much fanfare.
In Rowe's new CNN series, he takes us to meet all of these folks who are the "somebodys" that "gotta do it!"
.....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
yeah I know CNN..whodathunkit
Sorry, Mike... can’t bring myself to turn on CNN. Don’t even know what channel it is anymore.
A few years ago Mike Rowe was on the Adam Coralla podcast and they had a very interesting discussion about the trades and how important they are to our country and our economy, and how it used to be more accepted to work these types of jobs than it is in today’s world where everyone wants their kids to go to college and do better than the previous generation; that can’t continue ad infinitum (ex: can Bill Gates’ kids be even more successful than him? Probably not.).
There’s nothing wrong with working in the trades instead of going to college, and you can earn a living and raise a family that way.
Mike: For the last 10 years, I’ve had a front row seat to work in America. I’ve apprenticed on 300 different jobs, and gotten a glimpse of work as it really exists in every major industry. I’ve seen our infrastructure close up, and worked with the people who tend to it. From mining to farming, I’ve had a chance to meet the men and women who keep the lights on. That certainly doesn’t make me an expert - but it does make me a witness.
Today, my position is that of a guy who’s hopelessly addicted to smooth roads, affordable energy, sturdy bridges, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and three meals a day. I’m impressed by the people who make these things possible, and by the companies who hire them. In short, I’m a fan of hard work, regardless of the color of the collar. But mostly, I’m aware that many great opportunities exist for people who are willing to learn a trade. Calling attention to those opportunities seems like a worthwhile and consistent thing for me to do with the notoriety I have. So I’m doing it.
Mike: I know many plumbers and welders that make six-figures a year. But I don’t know many parents who encourage their kids to explore those careers. That’s not a pay problem - that’s a status problem. The skills gap on the other hand, is not a problem at all - it’s a symptom of what we value. And until we rethink the prevailing definition of a “good job,” the gap will widen and swallow us all.
Mike is a fine American.
I like Mike a lot.
However, my attitude wrt the Communist News Network will prevent me from viewing his show.
Yes he is! And by going on CNN he's taking his philosophy of hard work and American spirit right into the belly of the beast.
I have infinitely more respect for a guy who shovels shyte for a living than I do for an ivory-tower “journalist.” Although it could be credibly argued that they do the same job, at least one of them is honest about it.
The same goes for the rest of the chablis-and-brie crowd who look down from their penthouses on the Morlocks who make their pampered lives possible. I’d ride the bus beside a smelly working man any day before I’d hop into a limo with one of those perfumed pansies.
TV Guide Magazine: You had a great run with Discovery. Why did you leave?
Mike Rowe: A couple of things happened. With respect to Dirty Jobs, we did 300 jobs and we shot in all 50 states. We were getting to the point where people wanted the show to get bigger, and honestly, I’m not interested in big shows. I didn’t want to do a special episode of Dirty Jobs with Gwyneth Paltrow or John Stamos in the sewer. I just didn’t. The show is about anonymous people in towns you’ve never heard of doing things you didn’t know existed. I didn’t want that to fundamentally change.
TV Guide Magazine: Was Discovery clamoring for that?
Rowe: It wasn’t just them. It was the industry. And that is the second point. I felt like I was in a place where nonfiction TV doesn’t mean what I thought it meant. Unscripted no longer means without a script. I looked at Duck Dynasty and Amish Mafia and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and all the hit shows that were coming out of the nonfiction space — they had writers’ rooms. So, between that trend in nonfiction and the fact that I was in season eight of a show that was, frankly, physically killing me, I had what felt like a logical conclusion.
TV Guide Magazine: You’re uncomfortable with the fact that the reality genre is less real and more scripted.
Rowe: That’s entirely true and I’ve never been shy about it. I couldn’t sell Dirty Jobs today. In fact, I took Somebody’s Gotta Do It all over the place. And people were interested, but the thing I ran into again and again was the same question, ‘Well, how is it going to end? How will each segment end?’ and that question made it very clear to me that the level of desired certainty in nonfiction programming was fundamentally at odds with the kind of show that I wanted to do. I randomly ran into [CNN president] Jeff Zucker on his first day of work and we had a similar conversation. And he said, ‘Well seriously, what do you need?’ And I said, ‘Honestly, an hour of primetime, some jet fuel and a small crew.’ And he laughed and said, ‘Well, I can do that.’ Right now news has more in common with traditional nonfiction programming than most people who produce nonfiction programming.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Mike-Rowe-CNN-1087891.aspx
Mike’s the real deal. My daughter worked with him on a termite job. He is a great guy but has a penchant for beer!
What’s he doing on the Communist News Network?
Some Pinhead's gotta do it.
She qualifies.
He could do one on the presidency and CDC.
Sorry, but he won’t rack up any CNN Nielson ratings from this house.
They said yes. That’s the reality of shopping a show, you’re going to hear no a dozen times at least, then eventually somebody says yes, and there you are. Maybe you have no idea how you landed there, maybe you think the decision makers are idiots, maybe you’re diametrically opposed to all they say... except when they said yes, you like that one.
I like Mike.
The ONLY mancrush I’ve ever had.
**** “but has a penchant for beer!” *****
and the problem is?
TT
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