We're normally pretty skeptical of hype here at the Buzz, but then again, the folks at Clear Channel Communications aren't known for doing things small.

For the Saint Peter and the Vatican exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center starting in December, expect to see television, radio, newspaper and magazine ads blanketing the Midwest.

Museum Center President Doug McDonald called the coverage "perhaps the biggest for any event ever held in Cincinnati."

Clear Channel will be hyping Vatican because one of the radio goliath's units produces and owns the show, taking a healthy cut of entry fees but also most of the financial risk.

And speaking of television commercials, the Museum Center started running one of its own Monday.

It touts the museum itself, instead of a specific exhibit.

Local firms donated about $300,000 in services for the ad, which comes as the museum is trying to pitch memberships, donations and a Hamilton County tax levy next year.

"We really think this is an active time for the Museum Center, with a lot of reasons for people to come," McDonald said.

Shutdown

Straight from the where-are-they-now file:

Former workers and shareholders of Gibson Greetings Inc. will remember Frank O'Connell, the CEO who arrived in 1996, tried and failed to rescue the greeting-card company, then oversaw Gibson's sale to American Greetings Corp. in March 2000.

Now O'Connell is in the news again.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, his Indian Motorcycle Co. in northern California shut down production last week.

O'Connell started as CEO there in 2000 and was most recently chairman.

His replacement as president was Lou Terhar, the former head of David J. Joseph Co. here.

Jump to it

In search of service to the extreme, one local firm has gone to great lengths - or heights.

Four workers at selection.com in Colerain Township have joined a skydiving team that will jump in the U.S. Nationals in mid-October.

This year, the five-man team has done 50 jumps in competition, all from more than 10,000 feet.

It's called Team Fastrax, named after the company's software product.

"One of our goals this year is to actually jump a proposal into a client and say, 'We go to the extreme to deliver,'" chief executive officer and team member John Hart said.

In case you're adventurous - or in the Buzz's view, a lunatic - Team Fastrax sometimes provides tandem jumps for clients.

With three dozen employees, the $15 million company provides background checks for more than 8,000 clients.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com