Jane Weaver

Just two months ago, the family of Eloise Barnette was saying good-bye.

The number of people turning to the Internet to search for a diverse range of health-related subjects continues to grow, according to a new study. But the majority of Web health-seekers tend to be affluent, well-educated and female, which means millions of Americans are cut off from the Internet at a time when the federal government is pushing the health industry to post more information online. IN ALL, 80 percent of Internet users, or about 93 million Americans, have searched for a health-rela…

Video games aren’t just for kids. For American college students, games are as much a part of life as studying and partying. A study from Pew Internet Research finds that 70 percent of college students play video games at least “once in a while.” ALMOST HALF of college students who play video, computer or online games admit that it keeps them from studying “some” or a “lot,” according to the Pew study. About 9 percent said that gaming was a way to avoid studying. The study, “Let The Games Begin…

The U.S. advertising market for 2003 is looking better than first forecast earlier this year, a closely watched industry research firm said Tuesday. ROBUST SPENDING ON the upcoming fall TV season and on Spanish-language media are contributing to a 4.3 percent rise in U.S. advertising over last year to $125 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, an advertising research firm based in New York. Steven Fredericks, president and chief executive of TNS Media upped the yearly forecast from…

After the U.S. began striking targets in Iraq late Wednesday, major American marketers began pulling their advertising from television and other media as planned. But media analysts say the commercial losses should be short-term unless a prolonged war damages the U.S. economy. BY MIDDAY Thursday, the broadcast television networks had switched to 24-hour news programming and were expecting to suspend all advertising for the first few days of war. Even before the so-called “shock and awe” campaig…

As Americans prepare for a possible war with Iraq, the various branches of the U.S. military are pouring money into TV commercials, Web sites and even an adrenalized video game in efforts to win tech-savvy new recruits. IN A SOMBER new public service announcement for the Marine Corps., reverent music accompanies images of young men and women in training, jumping from helicopters and climbing hurdles. There’s no voiceover, but the words “For honor, for courage, for country” appear before the spo…

Compact-disc burning and music downloading contributed to a 9 percent decline in CD shipments and a 6.8 percent slide in sales last year, the Recording Industry Association of America reported Friday. THE LATEST FIGURES from the RIAA mark a troubling two-year sales drop for the music industry, brought about by the rise in illegal downloading of songs from the Internet and the growing popularity of CD-burning among music fans, the U.S. recording industry’s trade group said. Shipments and sales…

Are rich and famous celebrities just like you and me? In Coca-Cola’s new ad campaign breaking on TV Monday, actresses Penelope Cruz and Courteney Cox Arquette and singer Mya are featured in their everyday lives acting like “real” people. The star-studded campaign is Coke’s latest major effort to reconnect with teen-age consumers, borrowing from rival PepsiCo’s love affair with young, popular celebrities. THE ATLANTA BEVERAGE maker plans to launch the first of more than a dozen television commer…

Do people want to watch full-length movies on their computers? Millions already are — illegally. A tougher question is, can an Internet service offering current films like “The Scorpion King” and “Panic Room” for rent slow digital piracy and make money for its major Hollywood studio backers? IN A MOVE to combat digital piracy and boost the nascent movies-on-demand industry, five major Hollywood studios premiered Movielink.com Monday. Movielink, a Web site where users can “rent” films, is a joi…

Winning the gold in the Olympic Games is no guarantee that an athlete’s road will be paved with green. Is there enough heat coming from this year’s crop of Olympic medalists to win the endorsement gold? THE WINTER GAMES don’t typically bring in as much money from corporate sponsors as the summer competition. Apart from women’s figure skating, winter sports — skiing and bobsledding, for instance — get less TV exposure through the year and usually attract small audiences. Even worse, an economic…