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St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com  |
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 Internet Could Replace Television and Newspapers As Best Source of Information & Learning ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com) Dec 23, 2001 - The World Wide Web, which has become synonymous with the Internet, is only 10 years old this month. To commemorate this milestone, SBC Internet Services, a company of SBC Communications Inc., with headquarters in San Antonio, commissioned a survey by the Yankee Group to gauge Americans' attitudes about the past, present and future of the technology. "One in four Americans surveyed began using the Internet after 1999, and this technology has already reached nearly two-thirds of American households," said DSL product marketing vice president B.J. Mamuzic. Consumers are expected to purchase more than 10 million PCs by the end of 2001. Nine out of 10 PC-owning households in the United States have and take advantage of online access, according to the Yankee Group. "The survey revealed that the Web has become an integral part of our everyday lives, as accepted and integrated into our daily routines as the telephone or the microwave," stated Mamuzic. "We have witnessed the evolution of the Internet from a gadget for surfing to an essential tool - connecting families and providing immediate access to information." Although today's consumers are able to choose among hundreds of cable channels, as well as newspapers, books and radio stations for information, more consumers are relying on the convenience and speed of the Internet to obtain the information they need. More than half of the survey respondents ranked the Internet as the best learning and information source today, and 46 percent of participants described the Internet as their library. Specifically, survey respondents ranked the following information and learning sources in order of importance:
"Interestingly, Americans over the age of 25 tend to think of the Internet in terms of its utility, while younger Americans are inclined to view the Internet in more social and emotional terms - one in five young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 surveyed described the Internet as their 'best friend,'" said Shlain. "In addition, one in three survey respondents cite the Web as their personal assistant, 23 percent describe the Internet as their shopping mall, and 21 percent think of the Web as their travel agent." An overwhelming 93 percent of Americans surveyed agree that 10 years from now, the Internet will help families stay connected and will be the most important tool they need to communicate with friends, family and colleagues. As Internet performance improves with advancing technology, Americans believe the Internet could be the only source for some of today's more traditional services. In the next 50 years, survey respondents believe the Internet could replace postal services (62 percent), the television (59 percent), retail stores (63 percent) and business offices (69 percent).  St. Louis Film Industry Gets Helping Hand ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com) Dec 23, 2001 - The Missouri Film Commission and St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission will assume film production roles for St. Louis, beginning January 1, 2002. The St. Louis Film Office is closing December 31, 2001. "The St. Louis Film Office's work is going to continue and will be even stronger in the future," said Jerry Jones, director of the Missouri Film Commission. The commission will solicit film and television production for St. Louis as part of their mission to attract projects to Missouri. Jones' office will take the lead role in servicing all film, television and commercial production. The CVC will provide support services such as obtaining required permits from government entities and locating local goods and services providers. Bob Bedell, president & CEO of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, stated that "People in the St. Louis film and video community depend on this work. We intend to keep St. Louis as a very desirable location for producers," stated Bedell. The St. Louis Film Office phone lines at 314-992-0609 will remain operational. The St. Louis production guide, database, location photography and other materials will be transferred to the Missouri Film Commission for their use in soliciting projects for the St. Louis Metropolitan area. According to Jones, the St. Louis Film Office will retain its membership in the Association of Film Commissions International (AFCI). Missouri Consumers Share in $8.3 Million Settlement Triad Discount Against Buying Service ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com) Dec 23, 2001 - St. Louis City Circuit Judge David Mason has approved Missouri's portion of a nationwide settlement requiring a group of Florida-based buying clubs to pay more than $9 million to resolve allegations that they deceived consumers nationwide into signing up for "free" trial memberships and then placed unauthorized charges on the consumers' credit cards. Last year Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth led a 48-state effort to to sue Triad Discount Buying Service, the other clubs and operator Ira Smolev. The investigation resulted in 48 states entering into the agreement, each of which must be approved by courts in those states. Some $8.3 million will be earmarked for restitution to consumers and $750,000 will cover investigative costs by the states. Missouri's settlement was approved this morning by St. Louis City Circuit Judge David Mason. "By going after a business that was one of the worst offenders in the practice of 'capturing' consumer credit card information in order to make unauthorized charges, we're serving notice on anyone else who does it that this new type of consumer fraud will be dealt with aggressively," stated Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon in an announcement. Nixon said consumers who called a toll-free number advertised on television to purchase various products with a credit card ended up with an unauthorized charge for a buying club membership for an entire year - at $96 - on their credit or debit cards. Even when the telephone operators described the buying club to the consumer, the consumer was never asked for permission to charge the card, Nixon said. In addition, charges were automatically reimposed annually, and consumers who called to cancel the memberships often were frustrated by busy signals. Nixon said many Missouri consumers who tried to obtain refunds for the memberships were unsuccessful. An estimated 5,200 Missourians were victims of the scheme; approximately 275,000 consumers nationwide who filed complaints against Triad companies may be eligible for partial membership refunds under the agreements. The agreements specifically cover Smolev, in addition to the Triad companies he operates; several of the companies currently are in bankruptcy court. Smolev must maintain a $1.5 million escrow account before he markets goods or services to the general public or assists others engaging in telemarketing.  The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
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