While Mike Lee, 34, has held down coveted gigs such as famed hockey player Mario Lemieux’s rep and vice president of the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s his current work that he’s most passionate about.

Since 2004, Lee has devoted himself to reinventing the image of his hometown through first an independent TV show, and now a Web-based show produced in conjunction with Pittsburgh’s local PBS station.

“Pittsburgh Insite,” modeled after his original show “Pittsburgh 365,” launched on May 1 and is Lee’s attempt to prove that the city he grew up in is actually a burgeoning place for young professionals.

“There is this perception that everyone here drives old Cutlass Sierras and Cadillacs and works in the mills,” says Lee.

It was while working in multimedia for the Penguins that Lee found himself drawn to mass communication, so much so that he left a successful career to start his own media company.

“I guess I was being brash one day,” says Lee, laughing.

After airing 41 episodes of “Pittsburgh 365,” Lee took a job at the local PBS station hoping to learn more about television production.

Now, as the city’s image is slowly being reinvented with a new stadium, a recent Super Bowl win, and a revitalized downtown, Lee thinks it’s the perfect time to launch his new show.

“It’s exciting to see where the city is going to head in the next five years.”

 

-Nina Ahn