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 Thu, May 7 1992 Date: Thu, 7 May 92 05:31:39 EDT Message-ID: 05-07 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update May 7, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SHORT-TERM THERAPY DISCUSSED: Call it marital therapy just in time for harried baby boomers turning 40. Or quick help for sagging marriages in an era of microwaves and mini dollars. The most-talked-about - and controversial - brand of help is short-term therapy that may last as few as six to 10 sessions. Some say that any major effects are felt in the first few sessions of therapy anyway. (For more, see special Therapy package below.) BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES GROW: Black-owned businesses had phenomenal growth the past two decades, according to Earl Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise. The magazine's latest issue contains its 20th annual list of the top 100 black-owned businesses in the USA. Revenue at the top 100 jumped 10.4% last year. Tops on the industrial:service company list: TLC Beatrice International Holdings, the fifth straight year. MORE TAKE IN CABLE SPORTS: The number of subscribers to regional cable television sports networks has more than tripled in four years. According to Paul Kagan Associates Inc., Media Sports Business, in September 1987 there were 11.6 million subscribers to such networks. In September 1991, the number was up to 36.6 million. NEW CHANNEL HAS CHRISTIAN SPIN: Rock videos have been assailed by some as the work of Satan, but they'll take on a heavenly glow this fall with ZTV. The 24-hour cable music channel, to premiere Oct. 1, will carry videos by contemporary Christian artists. Potential acts include BeBe and CeCe Winans. VJs will introduce the songs on ZTV, which bills itself as "The last word in music television." GENRE IS `FASTEST GROWING': The contemporary Christian music genre "is the fastest growing," says ZTV Chairman David N. McQuade, "and nobody is serving it." "This is a huge, broad market," he says. In the 10 years since MTV, many companies have suffered costly defeats trying to duplicate its success. McQuade prophesies success for ZTV because it serves a niche market, as does Country Music Television. HOTELS TO OFFER FAX SERVICE: Further proof that facsimile machines are becoming increasingly ubiquitous: Rochester Telephone Corp. says it will partner with Alpha Net Telecom Inc. to offer in-room facsimile services to hotel guests. Hyatt Hotels Corp. will offer InnFax at Michigan Suites and Park Hyatt hotels in Chicago. Delta Hotels and Resorts will offer the service at its Meadowvale Inn in Toronto. WORK FOR ADVERTISERS: Marketing and media experts Wednesday warned newspaper publishers they must work harder and more imaginatively for advertisers. They must become a medium "where you deliver business to your advertisers," marketing consultant Stan Rapp said. Kenneth Banks of Eckerd said the company turned to broadcasters for a recent media brainstorming session. SHOW HAS BECOME SOLID SUCCESS: "America's Most Wanted" has grown more sophisticated, cutting down on violence and installing a 140-language interpretation service to its toll-free telephone line, according to executive producer Lance Heflin. Friday, the show announces its 200th gotcha and looks back at its most amazing captures, including one in which a fugitive was nabbed 33 minutes after the show aired. NEW AUDIO EQUIPMENT TO DEBUT: A new generation of audio equipment that records music digitally appears in stores in September. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Wednesday it will market its first digital compact cassette deck in Japan starting Sept. 21 and in the USA shortly thereafter. The partial compatibility with cassette tapes is expected to be DCC's chief strength in competing against rival digital formats. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON THERAPY: EFFECTS FELT RIGHT AWAY: The most talked about form of therapy is short-term, which requires as few as six to 10 sessions. The "major effects of any type of therapy are felt in the earliest sessions, the first six to eight," says psychologist Mark Hubble of Kansas City, Kan., who recently assessed state of the art research for psychotherapists at the Family Therapy Network Symposium in Washington, D.C. SHORT-TERM MORE COST-EFFECTIVE: The "average number of times people will stay in therapy is about 5-6 sessions," says Hubble. "I'm not saying we have a panacea, but if what we are learning is true, why stay around longer?" Short-term family therapy tends to be more direct and more cost-effective than traditional methods, says Mark Ginsberg of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. NEVER MIND CHILDHOOD: Brief, solution-oriented therapy concentrates on learning specific skills to solve today's problems, not on journeys back to childhood to find reasons. A couple can expect "a lot of direction, a lot of interaction with the therapist, a goal-oriented emphasis on building problem-solving and positive communication skills," says San Diego psychologist Michael Yapko. (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