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, Apr 16 1992 Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 05:42:24 EDT Message-ID: 04-16 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update April 16, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BLACK ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CARDS: Trading cards used to be just for sports. But they've begun expanding into other areas. Now sets of cards from Unbeatables Inc. chronicle black achievement. The first set of 16 cards tells the adult life od Martin Luther King Jr. The second set, 19 cards, profiles gas mask inventor Garrett Morgan; open-heart surgery pioneer Daniel Hale Williams; and others. WE'RE MORE LITIGIOUS: The number of cases filed in state courts topped 100 million in 1990, equivalent to a court case for every other adult in America, a new report says. The report from the National Center for State Courts, out next week, says that while the population rose about 5% between 1984 and 1990 civil cases increased 30% to 18.4 million and criminal cases, 33% to 13 million. IT'S LAWYER-BASHING TIME: Juvenile cases increased 28% to 1.5 million between 1984 and 1990, while the population grew only about 5%, according to a study out next week from the National Center for State Courts. Also on the upswing: Criticism of the legal system. Vice President Dan Quayle, a lawyer and the husband of one, questions the need for an estimated 800,000 attorneys, about one for every 300 Americans. SCHOOL SPENDING DOUBLES: Spending per pupil, on average, in the USA's public elementary and secondary schools has just about doubled in the past decade, according to the National Education Association. It has increased every year between 1981-82 and 1991-92, going up between about $200 and about $300 per year. In 1981-82, an average $2,753 was spent. In 1991-92: $5,452. GET READY FOR ELECTRIC CARS: Chrysler will wheel out the first mass-produced electric vehicles meeting modern federal safety standards this fall with its battery-powered minivans making their debut in California. Other automakers are experimenting with battery power as well. General Motors is working on a battery-powered sports coupe, called Impact, it claims can match the performance of a gasoline-powered car. VACATIONS MAKE A RETURN: Despite the feeble economy, the family vacation has made a return at the hands of consumers who've cut corners and denied themselves pleasures long enough. A new study by Better Homes and Gardens shows that 94 million adults will take a family vacation in '92. But nearly all will be more value-conscious. Experts thus predict more of the trend toward close-to-home trips. BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY: There may be a silver lining in the cloud of the difficult economy. Because of financial concerns, "There's a trend to multigenerational trips," says Carol Eannarino, managing editor of Family Travel Times newsletter. "The economy has forced people to look closer to home and include their extended families." Also a winner: National parks, traditionally moderately priced. NBC TRIES `DISASTER FILES': NBC adds another entry to the increasingly crowded field of reality programming with "Disaster Files ... Earth, Wind, Fire" airing April 26 and May 10 at 7 p.m. EDT:PDT. That's opposite "60 Minutes." This from the folks who brought us NBC's "I Witness Video," which features amateur videotape of events such as a police officer who inadvertently taped his own death. SMALLER AGENCIES GET ACCOUNTS: Smaller and midsize advertising agencies are winning more large accounts, according to a recent Advertising Age roundup. Major assignments gained in recent months by shops with billings of less than $500 million include the $80 million American Izusu Motors account won by Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein and the $35 million Compaq Computer Corp. account won by Ammirati & Puris. NEW YORK CITY POPULATION UP: The 1980s was the biggest decade for immigration since the early part of this century, show figures released Wednesday by the Census Bureau. Immigration caused New York City's population to rise relative to the suburbs for the first time in sixty years, said City University of New York's John Mollenkopf. The share of households without full plumbing fell from 4% to 1%. SEAGRAM TO TRY FLAVORED GIN: House of Seagram this month is introducing citrus gin in test markets, joining an expanding palette of flavored drinks aimed at reviving the industry, reports Advertising Age. Somers, a British import, will be introduced to three markets. Nearly all seven distilled spirits named as "hot" by Impact magazine for 1991 are flavored, including Absolut Citron and spiced rum Captain Morgan. TREND SWOOPS BACK INTO STYLE: The latest facial variation, reports the April issue of Vogue: "Suddenly eyebrows have been put back on the face." The altered eyebrow has shown up on pop icons Madonna and Michael Jackson, actress Anjelica Huston as Morticia in "The Addams Family" and Sherilyn Fenn as smoldering beauty Audrey Horne in "Twin Peaks." Supermodel Linda Evangelist also sports superbrows. ANOTHER SPECIALTY CHANNEL: Cable television has made niche programming an industry watchword with comedy television, country-music television, news channels and the like. Media mogul Ted Turner is an enthusiastic subscriber to that creed, with Turner Broadcasting's The Checkout Channel and The Airport Channel. Now the husband of workout-video guru Jane Fonda is working on a Fitness Channel for health clubs. 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