It's a catchy title – TriState Strong: Getting To Zero – for the one-hour local coronavirus special on Thursday, Dec. 10, involving three Cincinnati TV stations, three radio stations, the Enquirer, four hospital networks and more than a dozen Cincinnati personalities.
Exactly what are we getting to zero?
The number of COVID-19 deaths? New cases? Hospitalizations? Percentage of infections?
"All numbers!" says Regina Carswell Russo, the local marketing consultant who produced the co-operative pandemic program through her Regional COVID Communications Center (RC3).
"The doctors have been great at giving us all the numbers. We want people to drive the COVID-19 cases down to zero. And that will make it easier for us to live, work and play. The ultimate goal is to get us to zero," says Russo, a former WXIX-TV anchor and communications director for the Cincinnati Art Museum and Contemporary Art Center.
Tri-State Strong will be simulcast 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, on WCPO-TV (Channel 9), WKRC-TV (Channel 12) and WPTO-TV (Channel 14). It will also stream live on wvxu.org and at Cincinnati.com.WCET-TV (Channel 48) will broadcast the show at a later date.
Radio One stations WIFZ-FM (101.1 The Wiz), WOSL-FM (100.3) and WDBZ (AM 1230, FM 101.5) also are partners in the RC3 production.
Participants in the one-hour program include Procter & Gamble President David Taylor; Cincinnati Reds President and COO Phil Castellini; restaurateurs Mike and Mark LaRosa; the Rev. Damon Lynch III; Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco; and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College President Monica J. Posey.
Appearances also will be made by WKRC-TV's Sheila Gray, Kyle Inskeep, Bob Herzog, Paula Toti and Liz Bonis; WCPO-TV's Dan Monk and Tanya O'Rourke; WVXU-FM's Maryanne Zeleznik; WDBZ's Lincoln Ware; WLW-AM's Mike McConnell; the Enquirer's Anne Saker and Kathrine Nero; and staff and patients from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the University of Cincinnati Medical Center/UC Health, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Mercy Health.
Their unifying message: Everyone can do something to help reach zero positive cases, zero hospitalizations, zero closures, zero deaths, Russo says.
This is not the first time local media platforms united to air the same programming. In the 1990s, all five Cincinnati TV stations – Channels 5, 9, 12, 19 and 48 – simulcast a show broadcast live from WCET-TV seeking mentors for the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.
Find more information about the RC3 at the Health Collaborative website.
