New Television Program Focuses on Growing NEO Businesses, Economy

Set your DVR, Northeast Ohio, because the region has a new television show focusing on its economy and growing business that you should make a point to check out and share with others.

Last Friday, Nov. 6, "NEOtropolis" premiered on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO/WEAO 45.1/49.1) at 9 p.m. (and reair at 5:30 a.m. Saturdays). The new half-hour weekly program will build northeast Ohio viewers’ knowledge of regional economic issues, strengthen their confidence in the economy of northeast Ohio and provide them with helpful information and resources to endure challenging economic times.

You can watch the Nov. 6 episode here archived online at the NEOtropolis website.

The program focuses exclusively on the business and economy of our region. The show tells the full story of the regional economy, sharing both the challenges and opportunities unfolding in Northeast Ohio.

The program is hosted by Thomas Mulready, publisher of CoolCleveland.com. Content partners are Crain’s Cleveland Business and The Business Journal of Youngstown. Funding for the program is sponsored by many partners in Advance Northeast Ohio including MAGNET, JumpStart, and Kent State University.

“NEOtropolis will offer timely information about the region’s business and economy in a fast-paced yet in-depth format,” said Duilio Mariola, Western Reserve Public Media executive producer. “We want to be a vehicle for dialogue about regionalism for the four major cities in our broadcast area — Akron, Canton, Cleveland and Youngstown. In the first episode, for example, we will explore the biomedical technology industry and its impact on our entire region.”

The program presents short segments on the region’s business headlines, and reports on new and emerging business ventures, exploring the entrepreneurial work of the region’s business incubators. It also explores projects that are emerging from growth sectors (e.g. biomedicine and biosciences) and research being done at our colleges and universities; an insider’s perspective on what drives business decisions and how they are made; and a weekly roundtable presenting interpretation and analysis of the week’s economic news.

NEOtropolis also airs on Western Reserve Public Media’s Fusion channel (WNEO/WEAO 45.2/49.2) on Saturdays at 9 p.m. and on Mondays at 8:30 p.m.

This is an encouraging effort that hopefully will give influencers in the region positive stories of Northeast Ohio's progress to share with the public. Be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the program.