Year: 2014

CNN Turns to Jesus, Mike Rowe

Shari

Funny thing is, we have the same agent! Jeff Zucker, president of left-wing CNN, announced Thursday that Jesus Christ and Mike Rowe will be part of a new CNN line-up, including a revamped primetime. But what is described as a new primetime line-up is really just a soup of ideas brewed by a flailing network executive so that he has something to throw up against a wall in the hopes something will stick. Low-rated Erin Burnett will remain at the 7 p.m. hour and Anderson Cooper remains at 8 p.m. The 9 p.m. hour, which was once home to low-rated Read More

We Need More Dam Workers

Shari

One of the fun but annoying things about being me is the inability to read a simple headline without becoming immediately transported to a specific moment on Dirty Jobs. Here for instance, is an article about the men who maintain the Hoover Dam – one of the greatest engineering and architectural wonders of the modern era. Apparently, a big chunk of these men are about to retire. And guess what? There’s no one to replace them! This is potentially unfortunate news for the many millions of Americans currently addicted to the electricity provided by The Hoover Dam. For that reason, I Read More

Want to Know what Led to Dirty Jobs & the Destruction of my Prior Career?

Shari

Dirty Jobs has been out of production for two years now, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me, “How did such a disgusting show ever get on the air?” Until now, that’s a question I’ve traditionally deflected. Partly because the answer involves a sewer, a rat, countless condoms, several million roaches, many hundreds of tampons, vomit, urine, and a slow moving river of crap that very nearly swallowed me up. It’s also mildly redemptive, as such stories go. And completely true. If you’re interested in the truth about the precise circumstances that led to Dirty Jobs, Read More

OFF THE WALL: Regarding For Profit Technical Schools

Shari

Today’s comment off the wall comes from David Brugh. “Mike – what’s your take on the Feds calling technical schools “for-profit” and claiming these schools are predatory? I think – and my teenagers, for whom your mikeroweworks campaign has really resonated – think this is bullcrap.” Hi David – I think your kids have summed it up nicely! Many technical schools are in fact, “for profit.” But comparing a for-profit trade school to a for-profit, on-line university is a bit like confusing Robinson Caruso with Gilligan. True, they were both castaways, living on an island. But beyond that… At issue, Read More

OFF THE WALL: Ottawa Shop Class Crisis

Shari

  Today’s Off the Wall comes from Shelby, and a few hundred others who posted similar comments about a situation in Illinois. Shelby says: “Quite a story brewing in small town Ottawa, Illinois after the high school board voted for raises for the administration then cut the building trades class. Students, parents and tradesman protest. 2 days in a row now. Local business owners send food etc…” Here is the full article from the local Times’ website Quite a story indeed, Shelby. Thanks for posting. Couple thoughts. In general, I don’t support many protests. I don’t object to them – protests Read More

PEOPLE MAGAZINE AND THE PASSING OF MRS. P

Shari

Back in Community College, I had a journalism teacher named Paula Pumphrey. We called her Mrs. P, and she was fantastic. Once, I turned in a feature story that I felt was maybe the best thing I’d ever written. In particular, I thought my first sentence really sang… “On a misty morning in Southern Maryland, Mitchell Mycroft made a massive miscalculation – a mathematical mistake that be remembered as a marvelous misstep in modern manufacturing.” Mrs. P circled the entire sentence with a red marker and wrote in the margin, “ALLITERATION ALMOST ALWAYS ANNOYS!!!” She was right of course, and Read More

Equipment World: Mike opens up about opera, skilled trades and Dirty Jobs

Shari

Mike sits down with Equipment World at ConExpo 2014 to talk about his views on the skilled trades and explains “no job is a bad job.” By Wayne Grayson All of the new machines are obviously the star of a show like ConExpo. But one of the highlights for the Equipment World team last week at the show was getting to sit down with TV host and newly-minted author Mike Rowe for a conversation on the importance of skilled trades and vocational education. Just in case you’re unaware, Rowe is likely the foremost advocate for construction and the trades we Read More

MSNBC Morning Joe gets Mike’s take on Walmart backlash

Shari

Mike visits with the crew on Morning Joe to discuss the controversial Walmart ad and his new book Profoundly Disconnected. We also learn a new term “cognitive dissonance” – when someone you’re trained to hate does something you actually agree with and how it takes a minute to get your head around it…for some it has taken longer than a minute. Mike takes the time to make sure the message of bringing jobs and manufacturing to America is not lost in the debate.