KNX IS AMONG JOURNALISM NOMINEES

TV news stories on the war in Afghanistan and apartheid in South Africa were among 14 finalists in the 44th Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards in Broadcast Journalism, the university announced.

The finalists were selected from more than 1,000 submissions and the winners will be announced Feb. 5, the school said.

The awards, covering programs from July 1, 1984, to June 30, 1985, cover seven categories: network television, major-market television, medium-market television, small-market television, independent news and public affairs, cable and radio.

KNX (1070) in Los Angeles is one of the radio finalists, cited for its “Assignment ‘84-’85” documentary series.

The network television finalists are:

--ABC News for “Nightline: South Africa,” a five-night broadcast from Johannesburg that included a debate on apartheid by political and cultural leaders.

--CBS News for “CBS Evening News: Afghanistan: Operation Blackout,” for continuing war coverage despite press restrictions.

--NBC News for “The Real ‘Star Wars’--Defense in Space,” for an examination of issues behind the Administration’s proposal to shift strategic defense to space.

--PBS for “The Brain,” an eight-part series about the organ.

The major-market television finalists are:

--WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, for “Coverage of MOVE Siege,” the confrontation between a radical group and the city Police and Fire departments.

--WDVM-TV, Washington, for “Investigation of Dr. Milan Vuitch,” a three-part report on an allegedly unlicensed abortion clinic.