Mapping a Strategy for Coverage : Networks: Television news will go round-the-clock if needed. Executives say they will preempt entertainment schedules as events warrant.

If the shooting erupts in the Middle East, the TV networks are prepared to preempt regular programming for news coverage up to 24 hours a day if events warrant, officials said Monday.

“Depending upon exactly what happens in the gulf, a decision will have to be made by NBC officials just how much of the regular schedule should be suspended,” said Steve Friedman, executive producer of “NBC Nightly News.” “But, if there is a shooting war, it would be hard for the networks to continue presenting entertainment programming like ‘Roseanne’ or ‘Unsolved Mysteries.’ ”

News executives said that their companies have decided that they will preempt entertainment schedules as events warrant, with news officials making the specific calls to break into scheduled shows.

It is likely that each of the networks will extend the length of programs with a news focus such as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Nightline,” while possibly also extending nightly newscasts.

According to network executives, one possibility would be for the evening newscasts to run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern standard time, with the anchors doing the regular newscast for the first half-hour, then going directly into live coverage and analysis for a second hour.

At this point, the networks’ plans call for evening-news anchors Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather to anchor programs from New York.

“This is such a global story that it makes sense for Peter to be here in New York to combine the various elements,” said ABC News spokeswoman Sherrie Rollins. CNN also was preparing to go live around the clock if necessary, and sources said that CNN also is considering preempting commercials.

CNN is planning to have special reports at 11 p.m. and midnight Eastern standard time, with live reports from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other locations.

KTLA Channel 5 coverage will come mainly from the strength of its CNN affiliation, which also is true of other non-network-affiliated stations in the Los Angeles area. In addition, the station will survey people “on the street” as well as round up specialists to discuss the situation.

KABC Channel 7, KCBS Channel 2 and KNBC Channel 4 will rely on their network news coverage, but with considerable expansion by their local staffs. Spokespeople at KCBS and KNBC said that if hostilities break out, they will commence at least one 24-hour cycle of coverage, mixing network and local reports. Rick Swanson, KABC director of creative services, said the station will stay with ABC coverage and do local “inserts” as required, but “the situation has to dictate planning.”

On Monday at 7 a.m., KCAL Channel 9 began brief hourly updates from the region and planned to continue until midnight, with the possibility of such reports around the clock, said Suzanne Lowe, director of publicity. In addition to its usual three-hour nightly news package from 8 to 11, KCAL was scheduled to start 11 o’clock nightly half-hour Gulf specials last night.

KTTV Channel 11 maintains a “hot” camera on its set in case it needs to interrupt regular programming with a bulletin but for any additional ongoing coverage beyond its nightly 10 p.m. hour of news, it will reactivate the half-hour nightly 7 p.m. update reports inaugurated in August with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and aired for about six weeks.

Station publicist Andi Sporkin said that Bill Ritter and Chris Harris will co-anchor the report.

The station will localize events as needed but, since it has Middle East coverage from Visnews, Group W and Sky Channel, it won’t send any Los Angeles staffers to any war scene, she said. f

However, KCBS and KNBC are planning to send reporters to the region. KCAL reporter David Jackson, making his third trip into the region, began reporting Saturday from Amman, Jordan, in an hour special, “Deadline in the Desert.” The station’s David Goldstein was scheduled to begin reports Monday from Jerusalem.

Several local radio stations have plans to preempt programming starting as early as today, with others airing more frequent news broadcasts.

Santa Monica-based public station KCRW (89.9-FM) and KABC (790-AM) Talkradio will provide listeners with all-day coverage today, with experts and call-in segments.

Round-the-clock news stations KNX (1070-AM) and KFWB (980-AM) plan to focus almost solely on news about the gulf should fighting break out. KFWB will continue traffic reports and business information and occasional sports scores.

“Basically we’re going to become ‘All Persian Gulf All the Time,’ ” said Chris Claus, KFWB general manager, whose station’s slogan is “All News All the Time.”

“If the balloon goes up, we will drop everything else,” said KNX News Director Bob Sims. “It will be wall-to-wall coverage, no commercials, nothing else . . . I think there’s no other story that’s worth talking about.”

National Public Radio will switch to a 24-hour news operation in the event of war and broadcasts from the network will be heard on KCRW-FM (89.9) and KPCC-FM (89.3).

KCRW will also air reports from BBC World News, which will also expand its news coverage to 24 hours daily.

Irv Letofsky, Steve Weinstein and Claudia Puig contributed to this article in Los Angeles.