• 'Survivor' a Tristate favorite • Meet the cast

        If you were stuck in the Australian outback, who would you want to help you survive? A cop, a jailer, an Army intelligence officer, a couple computer geeks, two bartenders, a singer, a Harvard student, an administrative assistant, a personal trainer, an auto customizer, a footwear designer, a nurse or an industrial arts teacher?

        Whom would you want to vote out of your tribe?

        Those were the choices faced by , the first Tristate resident to be part of the Survivor television phenomenon that drew some of its best ratings here in the Queen City.

        Mr. Bingham, a 53-year-old teacher from Crittenden, Ky., who may have drawn on his farming background to advance toward the reality show's $1 million cash prize, was introduced to the nation Thursday as a member of the Survivor: The Australian Outback cast.

Grant County High School teacher Rodger Bingham (circled) with the Survivor castmates. (CBS photo) | ZOOM |

        “Sometimes I'm a little critical of people if they don't carry their own load. ... I'm gonna have to watch myself on that,” Mr. Bingham said in a television promotion tape that aired on The Early Show.

        Mr. Bingham has returned to his job teaching industrial arts at Grant County High School in Dry Ridge, but has rejected interview requests because of network restrictions.

        The cast was released in December to return to their regular lives, now that filming is over. However, CBS is maintaining tight control over information released about Survivor 2. The first installment of the series airs Jan. 28. The interviews CBS aired Thursday morning were filmed before the sequel was shot.

        John Stephenson, Mr. Bingham's cousin from Fort Mitchell, said he talked with Mr. Bingham on Thursday. He said the contestant had lost 20 pounds and hinted, “His farming background bid him very well on the show.”

Bingham

        Mr. Bingham grew up on a Kentucky farm and continues to raise cattle, Mr. Stephenson said. He had been a Dry Ridge banker before becoming a teacher 17 years ago.

        “He's rugged. He's physical. ... He's ingenious,” Mr. Stephenson said. “He's always on the move — always doing something.”

        “He's lost a lot of weight and looks a lot better,” said Krystal Reusch, 17, a student at the school where Mr. Bingham teaches. “He's got a tan. ...

        “We're all pretty excited he's in it,” she said. “He will do well.”

        She said she expects much of the Grant County community will tune in to see how a neighbor fares.

Tyler Bauwens, getting his hair cut by Lenny Steinhauser, says Mr. Bingham is one of the best teachers at Grant County High School. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        Tyler Bauwens, 20, a 1998 graduate of Grant County High School and a student in four of Mr. Bingham's classes, described the teacher as laid-back, with a positive attitude.

        “He is a nice guy,” he said “He's one of the best teachers there. ... I hope he does well.”

        Gannon Pettit, 16, of Dry Ridge, is a current student of Mr. Bingham.

        “I think he will do well,” he said. “He seems to get along with everyone.”

        Several students said they would not expect Mr. Bingham to quit teaching, even if he won the $1 million prize as the ultimate survivor.

        A distant relative of a renowned Louisville publishing family (former owners of the Louisville Courier Journal newspaper), he married Patricia Lenora Spellman in 1967.

        Mr. Bingham was introduced on CBS as a member of the Kucha tribe, an aboriginal word for kangaroo. The opposing tribe is called the Ogaker. The competition, among eight men and eight women, takes place in Australia.

        More than 49,000 people applied to be contestants, the network said.

        Terri Vaccari, research director at Channel 12, the CBS affiliate in Cincinnati, said Survivor was the No. 1-rated show in the country last summer and that local audiences grew every week for 16 consecutive weeks.

        The only city that showed more interest than Cincinnati, she said, was Norfolk, Va., the home town of Rudy Boesch, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who was one of the last three contestants on the series.

        The new show will follow a similar 16-week scheduling format (8 p.m. Thursdays), and the network is projecting a 28 rating among 25-54-year-olds for the premiere, which follows the Super Bowl.

        Ratings likely will drop slightly after that, Ms. Vaccari said, then build again to about 36 percent for the finale, in which the million-dollar winner is determined.

       Cindy Schroeder and Jim Hannah contributed to this report.

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