TELEVISIONIn the Thick of It: There’s a...

TELEVISION

In the Thick of It: There’s a network TV traffic jam these days at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as the Big Three and CNN send correspondents and crews to cover the anticipated U.S. invasion. CBS’ Dan Rather is already there, along with Bob Simon and Vicki Maybrey. NBC has Jim Maceda on the way to join Rick Davis. Tom Brokaw will stay in New York--for the time being. ABC has, either there or going soon, Linda Patillo, Chris Bury, Jim Wooten, Jim Laurie and Ron Claiborne, with Peter Jennings holding down the fort in New York. CNN has sent Rob Reynolds and Jim Clancy, with Christiane Amanpour and Richard Blystone on their way. But what about the possibility of a U.S. government-imposed news blackout, a la Grenada and the Gulf War? No chance, sources say. “This is the most publicly advanced invasion in history,” says CNN Executive Vice President Ed Turner. “This one would be pretty hard to miss.”

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Privacy Rights Upheld: In a case that is likely to affect both TV news and reality shows, a federal appeals court in New York has ruled that a Secret Service agent, James Mottola, violated the constitutional right to privacy when he took a crew from CBS’ “Street Stories” newsmagazine along with him on a 1992 raid and search of the New York apartment of a man suspected of credit fraud. The subject of the search, Babatunde Ayeni, sued CBS, along with Mottola and other, unnamed agents, saying that the videotaped search violated his privacy. CBS claimed it had journalistic privilege to be there under the First Amendment, but a federal judge disagreed. CBS subsequently settled out of court with Ayeni and his family. But Mottola appealed, claiming immunity as a federal official. This week, however, the appeals court rejected that claim and said that he can be sued for damages. “A private home is not a soundstage for law-enforcement theatrics,” the court said in a strongly worded opinion.

DANCE

Nureyev’s Island Legacy: Three islands off southern Italy’s Amalfi coast that were owned by ballet great Rudolf Nureyev have been put on sale for more than $3 million, auction house Christie’s said on Thursday. The islands, known as the Li Galli archipelago, are being sold to benefit the Russian-born dancer’s Ballet Promotion Foundations. The largest island has a lighthouse, a heliport and a tower that Nureyev fitted with a private dance studio. Nureyev died last year of an AIDS-related illness.

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Bolshoi Dates: Dancers from Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet are returning to Southern California for a Nov. 16-20 engagement at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and a Nov. 23-27 stand at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Both engagements will showcase full-length productions by Yuri Grigorovich, the Bolshoi’s longtime artistic director and chief choreographer, with his Moscow Grigorovich Company. The Cerritos stand will feature seven performances of the holiday favorite “The Nutcracker,” and Pasadena will host six performances of “Swan Lake.”

RADIO

Gay Dedications: Following KOST-FM’s (103.5) permanent lifting Monday of its ban on same-sex love song dedications, disc jockey Robert W. Morgan at oldies station KRTH-FM (101.1) on Wednesday threw open his 5-9 a.m. show to gay dedications. “The Robert W. Morgan show never had and never will have a policy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Dedicate,’ ” he said. “I’m amazed that KOST ever had it.” Morgan said the station’s switchboard was jammed on Wednesday after gays were invited to call in.

POP/ROCK

Rappers Address Legislators: Rappers Yo-Yo, KRS-One and Parrish Smith will speak at the 34th annual Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference in Washington today in a session convened by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and focusing on the message, meaning and controversy surrounding hip-hop music. . . . Meanwhile, another conference session, “Generation X: Black Voices of Reason, Rage and Responsibility,” will be simulcast on cable’s CNBC and America’s Talking at 5 p.m.

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Back Onstage: John Fogerty’s first formal concert performance in eight years will be at a benefit titled “Emergency Blues” on Tuesday at the House of Blues. Fogerty will be joined by a four-piece band at the fund-raiser for the Los Angeles group Stop Cancer. Tickets, which are $100 and $250, go on sale Saturday.

QUICK TAKES

“She TV,” ABC’s Tuesday-night sketch comedy show, has been given the boot after five outings. The show fell victim to poor ratings; its final show, scheduled for Sept. 27, will not air. A Barbara Walters special will fill “She TV’s” 10 p.m. slot next week, and the season premieres of the Monday-night comedies “Coach” and “Blue Skies” will repeat in the time slot Sept. 27. . . . In another testimony to her growing popularity, the “Ricki Lake” show has bested a record previously held by talk queen Oprah Winfrey. In the start of its sophomore season, Lake’s show is airing on a record 208 stations nationwide. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” had 179 stations at the same point in her career. . . . Steve Martin hosts the opening night of “Saturday Night Live’s” 20th season on Sept. 24, with Eric Clapton as the musical guest. Among the other hosts lined up so far: departed “SNL” co-star Dana Carvey, who hosts on Oct. 22.