President and co-founder Dorothy Swanson, the only paid staffer, says she dissolved the organization for financial reasons. Expenses this year exceed $52,000, while donations dropped to less than $35,000. Membership, which peaked at 5,000, has fallen to 1,500.

        “The organization is out of money,” she says in a statement posted on the VQT Web site (www.vqt.org). “With no realistic source of funding and a dwindling participation base, it cannot continue. There are too few of us to continue the fight and to financially support meaningful work.”

        Hastening the demise was Ms. Swanson's planned move to Florida early next year from Virginia. She will not file for incorporation in Florida.

        “Business realities collided with personal circumstances to make now the best time to close up,” she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

        VQT was founded in 1984 to save two drama series, Cagney & Lacey and St. Elsewhere. It later campaigned for Frank's Place, Designing Women, Sports Night and other low-rated series.In recent years, VQT has held annual conventions and honored the best prime-time shows.

        “We did make a difference. Many shows remained on the air longer because of our endorsement; the word "quality' became meaningful; our annual awards have been cited by many through the years as an important industry achievement,” says Ms. Swanson, who has written The Story of VQT: From Grassroots to Prime-Time (Syracuse University Press; $28.95).

        VQT has awarded a “seal of quality” to WB's new Gilmore Girls and 15 returning series: Ally McBeal (Fox), Any Day Now (Lifetime), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB), Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), Frasier (NBC), Law & Order (NBC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Malcolm in the Middle (Fox), NYPD Blue (ABC),Once and Again (ABC), The Sopranos (HBO), The Practice (ABC), The West Wing (NBC), Will & Grace (NBC) The X-Files (Fox).

        Selling Cincinnati: Curious to see how Cincinnati is being marketed to nearby neighbors in Louisville and Indianapolis?

        Then watch Experience the World in Cincinnati (7 p.m., Channel 12), the half-hour promotional program produced by WKRC-TV for the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau.

        Kathy Wade hosts the program, which aired twice last month on Louisville and Indianapolis stations. It features segments on three institutions which paid to be part of the show: the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops, and Cincinnati Museum Center.

        So why air the show here? The bureau has research showing that decisions on what to do in Cincinnati are made jointly by the host family and out-of-town visitors, says Tracy Nemenz, tourism director for the visitor's bureau.

        “So it's important for us to remind people here what you can see and do,” Ms. Nemenz says.

        Even if you know all about the CSO or Museum Center, Experience the World in Cincinnati is worth watching to see the spectacular aerial video of Cincinnati. Sheila Obermeyer's Channel 12 creative services team produced the slick film.

        The bureau plans two more promotional programs next year, a spring/summer show about outdoor fun and a fall showcase of cultural activities, she says.

        Tape delay: Original episodes of popular series pre-empted by election news Tuesday and Wednesday will air next week.

        The West Wing Christmas episode bumped by Al Gore's speech will air Wednesday (9 p.m., Channels 5, 22) instead of a repeat of last year's award-winning Christmas show. (Did Mr.Gore contemplate trying to edit himself into The West Wing Wednesday, so he could make his concession speech from Martin Sheen's Oval Office?)

        The Judging Amy episode in which Donna (Jillian Armenante) gives birth will air Tuesday (10 p.m., Channels 12, 7). Jill Eikenberry from L.A. Law guest stars as Donna's mother.

        Tuesday's Once and Again, in which Lily (Sela Ward) almost loses her job, also will air next month, an ABC publicist says.

        Foot note: Marathon runner Julie Isphording hosts On Your Feet, a weekly fitness show at 11 a.m. Saturday on WBOB-AM (1160), the Tristate ESPN affiliate. She interviews runners, walkers, coaches, doctors and authors on the show, and chats with callers about nutrition and local running events.

        “I find it to be one of the most rewarding experiences ever as more and more people get on their feet and get moving,” she says.

       John Kiesewetter is TV/radio critic for The Enquirer. Write to him at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; E-mail: Jkiesewetter@enquirer.com.

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