December 23, 1996

Malls continue to appeal to holiday shoppers despite crowds, offering convenience in enclosed, safe setting, with parking; shoppers and marketing experts comment; photos (M)

Food drive for needy families run by correction officers at Riverfront State Prison is aided by raffle of Tickle Me Elmo Doll; doll, won by Mark Britt, is donated to charity (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Legions of faithful travel to St Irene Chrysovalantou Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Astoria, Queens, to view what they consider a holy relic, remains of St Irene's hand; photo (M)

Stores Report Strength In Sales for Holidays Shoppers stepped up their spending on the final weekend before Christmas, retailers said yesterday, leaving them optimistic that they would have little problem exceeding last year's weak sales. While few numbers were available, many retailers said spending was up during the weekend and for the season, particularly in jewelry, apparel and toys. $(Page A1.$) During the holiday season, a standard retail industry joke -- ''nobody goes to the mall anymore because they're too crowded'' -- seems particularly appropriate. $(A1.$) TV Newsgathering Techniques Face New Challenge in Court Television news magazines have become the target of a new form of legal attack, as individuals and companies are arguing in court, with increasing success, that the use of hidden cameras and undercover reporting techniques tramples on their rights. $(A1.$) Executive Shakeup at AT&T Joseph P. Nacchio, the head of AT&T's troubled consumer long-distance unit, resigned to take over Qwest Communications, a company that specializes in leasing fiber-optic lines. Mr. Nacchio had been passed over in the selection of an AT&T president. $(D4.$) Barriers to Small Cable Channels A Darwinian process that favors proven, broad-concept programming approaches over niche concepts is preventing dozens of small cable television channels from reaching most of the nation's households. $(D11.$) No Growth in Self-Regulation of Ads An advertising industry group has decided not to broaden the focus of self-regulation by reviewing campaigns for so-called age-restricted products like cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and lottery tickets. The decision came after objection from some marketers of such goods. Stuart Elliott: Advertising. $(D10.$) Lesbian Publications Shift Focus While publications aimed at lesbians remain a tough sell, people in the industry say there is a strong potential market. But they add that in trying to appeal to a wider audience and win more advertising, some of these publications have moved away from the more sexually explicit and political subject matter they used to cover. Robin Pogrebin: Magazines. $(D7.$) Dateline: Vatican City Change, when it comes to L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, comes very slowly. Perhaps like Pravda, the former Soviet Communist Party daily, L'Osservatore Romano is best read for the news it does not print, or buries in a mountain of text, tucks onto a back page, or tries to avoid. $(D7.$) Elmo on the Net? Pinch Me. Stores have been sold out of Tickle Me Elmo dolls, this year's Cabbage Patch Kids, for weeks. But postings on the World Wide Web are offering the fuzzy, stuffed toys, which cost $25 to $30 in stores -- if they can be found -- for $200, $300, $500, even $3,000 and $5,000. $(D5.$) Push a Button, Not the Car To help with winter driving, two inventors have patented a system that, they say, will allow motorists to dump sand underneath spinning tires merely by pressing a button on the dashboard. Teresa Riordan: Patents. $(D2.$)

Telecommunications future is murkier than ever one year after Pres Clinton signed landmark bill that he said would allow laws to catch up to the future; cable television industry has largely abandoned its foray into telephone business, regional phone companies have shelved their efforts to get into television, and three big long-distance carriers have put through their steepest rate increases in several years; critics of Federal Communications Commission say agency's rules are primary reason so little competition has taken hold; but several experts in deregulation blame companies themselves, for failing to predict cost of their new ventures and overestimating capabilities of the technology; Reed E Hundt, chairman of FCC, is criticized by several industry executives for his aggressive approach to prying open local telephone monopolies; that has provoked backlash from companies, and they have successfully challenged commission's first set of competition rules in Federal courts (M)