CINNCINATI – WCPO-TV, Channel 9, will sponsor local spelling bee programs early next year that will determine which two students from the greater Cincinnati area will compete in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Spelling bee finalists from Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana will advance to two regional finals that will be held in February or March on a date that has yet to be determined. One speller from each of the two regional finals will represent the area in the national competition, which will be held May 28-29 in Washington, D.C.
“In partnership with WCPO we will inspire students in the Greater Cincinnati area to improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies and experience the thrill of competition,” said Paige Kimble, director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “WCPO’s sponsorship guarantees that local spellers will have the opportunity to participate in the nation’s most prestigious academic competition for elementary- and middle school-aged students.”
WCPO is assuming sponsorship of the local spelling bee programs from The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post, which are discontinuing publication at the end of this year. WCPO, The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post are owned and operated by The E. W. Scripps Company, which is headquartered in Cincinnati. The company also administers the Scripps National Spelling Bee on a not-for-profit basis.
It won’t be the first time that WCPO has participated in local spelling bee programs. The television station served as a co-sponsor of local spelling bee programs at various times between 1940 and 1970.
“Community involvement is one of our guiding principles at WCPO, so it’s only natural for us to ensure that students in Cincinnati who love to spell have the opportunity to compete for a chance to go to Washington,” said Bill Fee, vice president and general manager of the station. “Our goal, working in cooperation with the National Spelling Bee staff, is to develop a top-notch spelling program for the entire Greater Cincinnati area.”
The Cincinnati area spelling bee programs will be administered in two regions.
“Region I” will include schools in Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Pendleton and Robertson counties in Kentucky and Dearborn, Franklin, Jefferson, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland and Union counties in Indiana.
“Region II” will include schools Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Adams, Brown, Clinton and Highland counties in Ohio.
Precise details on how the local bees will be structured will be released at a later date. Letters notifying area schools of the change in sponsorship will be mailed in September. Also, more information about the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee, including study tips, will be available in September at the bee’s national Web site, http://www.spellingbee.com/.
About the Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company and 276 sponsors in the United States, Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Guam, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and American Samoa. The bee’s headquarters office in Cincinnati coordinates the national finals, enrolls sponsors and produces word lists and study materials.
About Scripps
The E. W. Scripps Company (www.scripps.com) is a diverse and growing media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, interactive media, and licensing and syndication.
The company’s portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks, with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country; daily and community newspapers in 17 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News Service; 10 broadcast TV stations, including WCPO and five other ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates and one independent; Scripps Interactive Media, including leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla and uSwitch; and United Media, a leading worldwide licensing and syndication company that is the home of PEANUTS, DILBERT and approximately 150 other features and comics.