FIRST OFF . . .

ABC News is preparing a radical facelift for its perennially underdog “World News Tonight” broadcast, the New York Times reported Thursday. The newspaper reported that mock broadcasts prepared for in-house examination have been shown to network executives for comment. The dry runs reportedly included an opening in-depth report (in one case, an AIDS takeout by ABC anchor Peter Jennings), a news summary, then another concentrated story--Jennings and ABC correspondents reporting on the recent televangelist scandals--and two closing features. The Times quoted ABC News President Roone Arledge as saying, “What we’re doing is taking the day’s news and seeing if it can be done another way.” The newspaper also reported that ABC News would be trimming its Chicago brueau and consolidating its West Coast operations, moving staffers from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Denver. ABC had no comment about the reports.