ON THE COVER: After an absence of...

ON THE COVER: After an absence of two years, the Daytime Emmy Awards are back on television, airing Thursday at 2 p.m. on CBS (Channels 2 and 8). The host will be Bob Barker, seen on the cover with Diana Muldaur, president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

It was the Los Angeles-based academy’s involvement this year that paved the way for the Daytime Emmy telecast. The New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences enlisted its aid after the networks declined to air the show in 1983 and 1984, citing concern over how the awards were administered.

Competing for the Emmy as best soap opera are “All My Children,” “Days of Our Lives,” “The Young and the Restless,” “General Hospital” and “Guiding Light.”

The nominees for best daytime game show are “Family Feud,” “The $25,000 Pyramid,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy” and “The Price Is Right.” Best talk/service show candidates are “The Merv Griffin Show,” “Donahue,” “This Old House,” “Woman to Woman” and “Hour Magazine.”