CBS' Survivor wants you! “Cincinnati is our biggest city. We need a person from Cincinnati on Survivor,” executive producer Mark Burnett said in a telephone interview.

        WKRC-TV (Channel 12) has been CBS' highest-rated Survivor market since Survivor: The Australian Outback, second in the series. Yet teacher Rodger Bingham of Crittenden, who was on the Outback show, has been the only Tristate Survivor contestant.

        Mr. Burnett said he wants to remedy the situation — much to the chagrin of CBS' publicists.

        “Tell people I said: "Hey, Cincinnati! Send us some tapes!' Put "Cincinnati' on it, real big!” Mr. Burnett told me.

        Folks at CBS, however, went crazy when they heard about Mr. Burnett's remarks. Applicants who put “Cincinnati” on an envelope “won't be given special consideration,” emphasized Johanna Fuentes, CBS' New York-based Survivor publicist.

        Mr. Burnett is not involved with soliciting applicants, she said. About 50,000 candidates are screened before Mr. Burnett looks at the finalists.

        But it's OK to encourage Cincinnati viewers to apply, she said, “because we want really big fans of the show” to submit audition tapes.

        Another problem for CBS folks was the timing of Mr. Burnett's remarks. The network won't be seeking Survivor applicants again until late this year or early next year, Ms. Fuentes said.

        The fifth show, Survivor: Thailand, was cast last spring and shot in July. It premieres Sept. 19 (8 p.m., Channels 12, 7).

        The application deadline for the Survivor 6, to be shot in October-November, closed in July. When the application process opens for Survivor 7 — likely to be shot next summer — it will be publicized on Survivor and www.cbs.com, she says.

        If Tristate residents make it to the final round next time, Mr. Burnett may have a soft spot in his heart for them.

        “Cincinnati deserves someone on Survivor. It's really a mark of respect for the city that has given our show such a loyal audience,” he said.

        “I can't guarantee that they'll get on, but I'll look into it. I'm going to make a note of that.”

        So if you want to see another Tristate contestant on the show, get those audition videos ready. The tribal leader has spoken.

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