TAWNY LITTLE SITTING IN IN CHRISTINE LUND’S SPOT

With the continuing absence of Christine Lund, KABC-TV Channel 7 has tapped former anchor Tawny Little to take her place for the next two weeks on its “Eyewitness News.”

Little, who was a news anchor at the station from 1978 to 1984, will join veteran Jerry Dunphy on Channel 7’s 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, beginning today.

She will be filling in for Lund, who is in the process of renegotiating her contract at the station. A KABC spokeswoman described the assignment as “a two-week experiment.”

Lund has been off the air since June 5. Her contract expired at the end of the month. Ed Hookstratten, her agent, said that she wants to cut back on her duties at KABC to spend more time with her children.

“As far as we know, they are still negotiating and we hope she’ll be back,” a Channel 7 spokesman said.

Little, a former Miss America, left KABC in 1985 to pursue an acting career, but she returned last May, having been hired to co-host the fall season of Channel 7’s “Eye on L.A.” magazine series with Chuck Henry.

At the time, KABC officials said that she would only be appearing in entertainment programs, not news--maintaining the policy of separation between the two divisions that they instituted several years ago.

KABC General Manager John Severino was not immediately available to comment on the decision to put Little in the anchor’s seat, rather than someone else from the news staff. Laura Diaz filled in last week.

It’s not the first time Little has taken over for Lund. She succeeded Lund as anchor of KABC’s 11 p.m. newscast in June, 1982.