Businesses, economic development agencies and governments can plan and strategize with all their might to bring positive news to Northwest Ohio, but no one could foresee an interesting trend that is shining a good light on our region — television reality shows.

The past year has seen no fewer than five such programs feature people who are garnering attention for the right reasons.

The queen of this trend is Crystal Bowersox, whose runner-up journey on FOX’s “American Idol” captivated fans and brought cameras and fame to her native Elliston and her song “Holy Toledo.” Bowersox continues to bring good headlines, with her recent Washington, D.C. appearance to discuss juvenile diabetes.

Toledo Free Press has followed the story of Kaylee Halko, who lives with progeria, a rare condition that accelerates aging. The indomitable Kaylee has been featured on shows with Dr. Oz and Barbara Walters, and was the focus of the TLC documentary “6 Going on 60.”

The Frisch family was featured on the ABC show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which brought host Ty Pennington and his crew to Northwest Ohio to build a new home.

More recently, Joni Meyer-Crothers was the subject of an episode of TLC’s “Extreme Couponing.” On the show, she purchased more than $3,000 in groceries for less than $50 cash, with the entire haul donated to local charities. Meyer-Crothers expects to make a return appearance on the show; Toledo Free Press will keep you updated on her philanthropic efforts.

On July 5, Dana Iliev and Lori Jacobs won the competition on a Tim Burton-themed episode of  Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.” As we reported in September, Toledo natives Iliev and Jacobs worked together at Grumpy’s in Downtown Toledo, becoming good friends. Jacobs briefly moved to New York City, and when Iliev would visit, the pair would explore cool food ideas to bring back to Toledo.

The cumulative effect of all these positive appearances is to introduce the nation to Northwest Ohioans who have good stories to tell and who bring good attention to our region. You can’t buy that kind of publicity, but hopefully we can cash in on it by showing the world what a great place Northwest Ohio is to live.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at  (419) 241-1700 or via email at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: American Idol, Crystal Bowersox, Cupckae Wars, Dana Iliev, Extreme Couponing, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, FOX, Grumpy's, Joni Meyer-Crothers, Kaylee Halko, Lori Jacobs, progeria, Publisher's Statement, Tim Burton, TLC, Toledo Free Press, Tom Pounds

This entry was posted on Friday, July 8th, 2011 at 12:00 am and is filed under Opinion, Publisher's Statement.
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