Nov. 6, 2009 7:14 a.m.
KENT, Ohio -- NEOtropolis, a new weekly program looking at regional economic issues, premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on Western Reserve Public Media PBS 45/49. The Business Journal is a content partner for the program as is Crain’s Cleveland Business. ##M:[MORE]##

“NEOtropolis will offer timely information about the region’s business and economy in a fast-paced yet in-depth format,” says 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 show repeats on Saturdays at 5:30 a.m. NewsNight Akron, which formerly aired Fridays at 9 p.m. on Western Reserve PBS, will move to 9:30 p.m.

NEOtropolis presents short segments on the region’s business headlines and stock reports; a long-form field piece taking a close look at some aspect of business or the economy relevant to current events; and reports on new and emerging business ventures, exploring the entrepreneurial work of the region’s business incubators, Mariola says. It also explores projects that are emerging from growth sectors and university research and incudes a weekly roundtable presenting interpretation and analysis of the week’s economic news.

Funding for NEOtropolis has been provided by The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Key Private Bank, KeyBank Foundation, MAGNET, Kent State University, Dominion Foundation, JumpStart Inc. and The Raymond John Wean Foundation.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.