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, Feb 20 1992 Date: Thu, 20 Feb 92 06:16:57 EST Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Feb. 20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MIDDLE CLASS IS SHRINKING: The middle class in the USA is a lot smaller than it used to be, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. Over the past two decades, many members of the middle class have joined the growing ranks of the rich or the poor. The decline of the middle class, which increased in the 1980s, was the first time the group shrank since World War II, reflecting the USA's growing income inequality. (For more, see special Middle package below.) OLDER FOLKS GO TO MOVIES: The over-40 set is going to the movies. They're the only growth group among frequent filmgoers, according to Motion Picture Association of America chief Jack Valenti. Speaking at a theater operators' meeting in Las Vegas this week, he said "this upturn is relevant" because from 1985 to 1991, frequent moviegoers (at least once a month) declined in all other age groups. `MATURE' FILMS DO WELL: Films with mature appeal, like "Fried Green Tomatoes" with Oscar nominee Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates, are currently doing big box office. Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association told a theater operators' meeting in Las Vegas this week that from 1990 to 1991 the percentage of moviegoers over 40 increased from 7% to 11% of all filmgoers. HATE CRIMES ARE ON THE RISE: A record 346 white supremacy groups are operating in the USA, up an alarming 27% in the past year, the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Also up for the fourth straight year: Hate crimes, ranging from murder to cross-burnings. "It's so alarming that we went back and double-checked the numbers," says Danny Welch, director of the law center's Klanwatch project. CLASS' POPULARITY SOARS: Domestic business class isn't new. TWA's had it for 10 years. But its popularity is clearly taking off. United and Delta have recently added business class on some domestic flights, though American, which premiered its business class this month, claims it's going further. Its remodeled DC-10s do have the same first-class and business-class seats as American's overseas flights. AQUARIUMS DRAW CROWDS: The $52 million aquarium set to open Feb. 29 in Camden, N.J., is just the tip of the iceberg, it seems. "Aquariums have become very popular - there's been a tremendous awakening of environmental consciousness among the public,"says Karen Asis, of the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Facilities will be opening in such cities as Chattanooga, Tenn., and Newport, Ore., this year. REALITY TV STILL STRONG: There's evidence that reality-based television shows are continuing to enjoy a strong viewer following. Monday, competing against CBS' Winter Olympic Games coverage, "American Detective" ranked No. 15 and "FBI: The Untold Stories" No. 19. It was the shows' best performance ever. They recently were shifted to Mondays from Thursdays. NERDY CHARACTER ATTRACTS FAME: The nerd is popular. Jaleel White's character, Steve Urkel on "Family Matters," a top-30 television hit, has a doll based on his character. A cereal, Urkel-Os, is now in the works and White can't even go to shopping malls because he attracts a crowd. He's hosting a prime-time special, "The Jaleel White Special," Saturday. "(Urkel) is so out-of-the-ordinary," White says. ELECTRONIC NEWSPAPERS PROTESTED: The growing field of electronic media has attracted congressional attention. Newspaper publishers Wednesday asked lawmakers to keep the regional Bell telephone companies from creating electronic newspapers and transmitting them over phone lines that reach 95% of all U.S. homes. Bell executives said they must diversify to keep the phone network tops in the world. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON MIDDLE: PERCENTAGE OF POOR, WEALTHY, UP: The middle class has shrunk drastically, according to a Census report out Wednesday. The Census found the middle class, defined as a family of four earning from $18,576 to $74,303, fell from 71.2% of the population in 1969 to 63.3% in 1989. The proportion of poor people (earning less than $18,576,) rose from 17.9% to 22.1%; the proportion of wealthy (more than $74,303) rose from 10.9% to 14.7%. GROUPS BEING PULLED APART: "The analogy I like to use is one of pulling apart," says economist Sheldon Danziger. "Grab both ends ... and you pull some to the bottom, some to the top." Rising income inequality affected all racial and ethnic groups. And the proportion of poor children rose so much that, by 1989, children were almost as likely to be poor as the elderly, long the poorest age group. WAGES DON'T MATCH INFLATION: Economists say the growing inequality in income is compounded by the failure of wages to keep pace with inflation. People at the bottom of the income scale not only are further away from the top, but are losing ground from year to year. The elderly were the only age group for whom poverty has declined since 1969. Reason: Social Security payments, unlike wages, are indexed to inflation. (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. 08:0002200000D0220 TRAV- R I Business-class-is-first-class......... A D0220 This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. 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