INFORMATION ELITE 

(Editor's note: In the beginning computers could only communicate in capital letters. This is one of 20 columns from Dr. Tomorrow's original series, included here to indicate change as well as describe it. Those columns also hold another story, that change is swift and offers both disaster and opportunity.)

AN INFORMATION ELITE IS DEVELOPING. THEY SEE MORE, HEAR MORE AND KNOW MORE. THEY MAKE MORE MONEY. THEY HAVE MORE INFLUENCE. THEY THRIVE WHILE OTHERS MERELY SURVIVE.

AN IN-DEPTH SURVEY OF THIS NEW GROUP HAS RECENTLY BEEN CARRIED OUT BY THE MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. IT CARRIES SOME SURPRISES. THEY DID IT FOR C-SPAN, THE CABLE-CARRIED NETWORK THAT COVERS THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES GAVEL-TO-GAVEL LIVE PLUS RELATED NEWS, 24 HOURS A DAY.

OF 959 PHONE NUMBERS IN 41 STATES -- ALL CABLE-SUPPLIED HOUSEHOLDS -ONLY 17 PERCENT REFUSED TO ANSWER. THIS IS A LOWER REFUSAL RATE THAN IN MOST NATIONAL SURVEYS. (THE SURVEY DID NOT COVER THE APPROXIMATELY 800,000 SATELLITE DISH OWNERS WHO CAN ALSO PICK UP C-SPAN). FIFTY PERCENT HAVE INCOMES ABOVE $50,000. ONLY 10 PERCENT EARN UNDER $10,000.

MEN OUTNUMBER WOMEN 42 TO 35 PERCENT. FIFTY-EIGHT PERCENT HAVE GRADUATE DEGREES. ONLY 18 PERCENT HAVE GRADE SCHOOL EDUCATION. FORTY-THREE PERCENT VOTE IN THE U.S. NATIONAL ELECTION. NON-VOTERS ARE ONLY 16 PERCENT.

FOR POLITICIANS THE FACT THAT NINE OUT OF EVERY 10 C-SPAN WATCHERS VOTED IN 1984 CARRIES A STRONG MESSAGE. THESE ARE THE ONES THAT COUNT. THEY RECOGNIZED THE HOUSE SPEAKER 88 TO 51 PERCENT. THEY VOTED ELEVEN TO ONE TO KEEP THEIR PRESENT FORMAT AS OPPOSED TO SWITCHING TO A COMMERCIAL FORMAT. THE FINDINGS BACK UP 1983 ARBITRON FIGURES THAT SHOW THIS GROUP ARE MORE LIKELY TO AFFILIATE WITH AMERICAN EXPRESS OR TO OWN A FOREIGN CAR. THE PERFECT UPSCALE AUDIENCE SOUGHT BY MOST ADVERTISERS. THEY ARE TODAY'S YUPPIES AND THEY ARE ALIVE AND MOVING UP.

C-SPAN THEMSELVES CLASSIFY ONE-SIXTH OF THEIR AUDIENCE AS "C-SPAN NUTS", THAT WATCH UP TO 100 HOURS PER MONTH! BUT BESIDES THE "NUTS", C-SPAN AUDIENCES SPEND 50 PERCENT MORE TIME WATCHING TV AND READING THAN NON C-SPAN'ERS. PRIME INDICATORS OF AN INFORMATION-RICH ELITE.

WHILE COMMERCIAL U.S. AND CANADIAN NETWORKS ARE WATCHING THEIR AUDIENCE FIGURES DROP, C-SPAN VIEWERS ARE INCREASING. WHILE THEY ARE ONLY ABOUT 25 PERCENT OF THE AUDIENCE AT THE MOMENT THEY ARE A POLITICALLY ASTUTE GROUP, SUPPORTIVE OF THIS NETWORK AND CARRY WEIGHT OUT OF PROPORTION TO THEIR NUMBERS.

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT, INTEREST BY CABLE OPERATORS PROVIDING SUCH A SERVICE IS SO LOW THAT I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND ANY CABLE COMPANY THAT CARRIES COVERAGE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS LIVE AND FULL-TIME. NO GROUP IS PUSHING ANY CABLE COMPANY TO CARRY FULL TIME COVERAGE.

CANADIANS HAVE NOT LEARNED TO ASSIMILATE AND USE THE POLITICAL INFORMATION, ECONOMIC CLOUT AND ELECTRONIC ADVANTAGES AVAILABLE IN THE NEW AGE.

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