Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Tue, May 5 1992 Date: Tue, 5 May 92 05:31:47 EDT Message-ID: 05-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update May 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NEWSPAPERS RE-EXAMINE INDUSTRY: The American newspaper Publishers Association meets in New York this week, aware that its media triangle - the newspaper itself at the top, readers and advertisers at the other corners - is obsolete. Two years of recession have shaken an industry that grudgingly acknowledged nearly 20 years of declining membership and increasing technological competition such as TV and cable. (For more, see special Newspapers package below.) WATER WORKOUTS TAKE OFF: Long a fixture of rehabilitation therapy, water workouts have exploded in recent years with classes pitched toward arthritic seniors and the development of buoyancy devices to allow deep-water running. Five million people perform vertical water aerobics, according to the Colorado-based American Fitness Association. The exercise burns about 460 calories per hour. IT'S A `GREAT ADVANCE': Water exercise is "one of the greatest advances in running equipment since nylon shoes," said Joe Henderson, who has written 12 running and fitness books. Many world-class runners and pro athletes are working out in the water now, especially injured members of several National Football League teams. "Virtually everyone knows how to walk," says one expert. AIDS CHANGES PRACTICES: Nearly a third of unmarried, sexually experienced women turned to monogamy, celibacy or other measures to reduce AIDS risks in the late 1980s. The study by the National Center for Health Statistics is the first government look at how AIDS affects women's behavior. A similar men's study hasn't been done. Changes made by the women included 16% becoming monogamous and 9.3% having sex less often. ART VALUES PLUNGE: The auction houses are keeping their fingers crossed as the spring art season opens Tuesday night in New York. Although values have dropped about 60% since May 1989, the number of works for sale is greater. A weak market can absorb it all, according to Milton Esterow of ARTnews magazine. But it's still a buyer's market and may not yet have bottomed. WOMEN DOMINATE CHEF AWARDS: Women chefs demonstrated their growing influence in the kitchen -and in the winner's circle - at the second James Beard Awards Monday night. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and Debra Ponzek of New York's Montrachet won three of the top honors. Walters was named chef of the year and her Chez Panisse, best restaurant. Ponzek was named "rising star" chef. MEDITERRANEAN GETS NOTICE: This so-called "Mediterranean diet" is grabbing the attention of U.S. nutrition experts and getting the stamp of approval of the medical community. A recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine touted its benefits and pointed out that Mediterranean areas have a lower incidence of heart disease than the USA. The cuisine of the Mediterranean is largely vegetable-based. OLIVE OIL HEART FRIENDLY: Olive oil may be ancient, but it's making headlines now. Dr. Walter W. Willett, one of the authors of a recent New England Journal of Medicine editorial, suggests that although the Mediterranean diet gets 35% to 40% of its calories from fat - higher than the 30% most experts recommend - that might be OK with a switch from saturated fats to monounsaturates like olive oil. AARP FIELDS REQUESTS: Reverse mortgages - something like equity loans on a home - are becoming increasingly popular. The American Association of Retired Persons receives more requests for information on reverse mortgages than on any other subject, says Bronwyn Belling, an AARP housing specialist. It "lets them take care of their pressing needs," she says. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON NEWSPAPERS: NEWSPAPERS BECOME TARGETED: Prodded by the recession, newspapers have started to remake themselves. The industry is rethinking its approach to news, advertising, marketing, circulation, production - and profits. It's trying to turn a mass medium into a targeted one, produce newspapers of magazine quality, find smaller advertisers to replace big retailers and create new markets for information. READERS HAVE A VOICE: To some journalists, the effort to redefine news smacks of pandering. To others, it's a matter of survival. There is change in many newsrooms. Some newspapers have set up phone lines so readers can respond to what they've read. Their comments are used to steer coverage and are published on the editorial page. The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock writes about traffic hassles. AD FOCUS SHIFTS: Non-classified advertising by local retailers accounts for 52% of newspaper ad revenue, and department stores typically were newspapers' top customers. Today, 24% of all department-store space is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Newspapers have adjusted by trying to lure smaller advertisers they wouldn't have bothered calling on before. (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM