POP/ROCK - Feb. 12, 1994

Tupac Conviction: Controversial rapper and actor Tupac Amaru Shakur was convicted Thursday in a Los Angeles Municipal Court for assault and battery stemming from a March attack on film director Allen Hughes. The 22-year-old rapper could receive as much as six months in jail when he is sentenced on March 10 for the crime. The rapper was found guilty of attacking Hughes with a weapon after being fired from Hughes’ film “Menace II Society.” Shakur, who co-starred with Janet Jackson in the movie “Poetic Justice,” also faces a trial for forcible sodomy of a 20-year-old woman in New York and has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault in Atlanta stemming from an October disturbance in which he allegedly shot and wounded two off-duty police officers. He was also arrested on March 11 in Los Angeles for carrying a concealed weapon and again two days later outside the set of Fox-TV’s “In Living Color” where he allegedly assaulted a limo driver--who in turn filed a civil suit against the rapper.

TV & VIDEO

Sawyer Signal?: Diane Sawyer did not co-host “PrimeTime Live” with Sam Donaldson Thursday night. Sawyer has been ill with the flu, but sources at ABC News said that her no-show also was a sign that her negotiations with ABC this week have not been going well. There was also some speculation at the network that, at a time of bidding over her services, Sawyer did not want to be beaten by Connie Chung in the ratings. Chung’s “Eye to Eye” show, which featured an interview with figure skater Tonya Harding, aired opposite “PrimeTime Live” and scored what CBS said was its highest rating ever. Others at ABC said that Sawyer wanted to send a signal to the network not to take her for granted.

Host With Most: David Letterman, a fan of auto racing, will present the Auto Racing Performer of the Year award at “American Sports Awards,” which ESPN will broadcast Feb. 28. Letterman joins a lineup that includes host Dennis Miller and presenters Joe Pesci, Bill Murray, Bob Costas, Rosie Perez, Sarah Jessica Parker and Bill Cosby. . . . And speaking of awards and Letterman, he and Barbra Streisand are among the front-runners to host the 1994 Tony Awards on CBS in June, according to Gary Smith, executive producer of Broadway’s top awards, which will air later this year.

MOVIES

‘Cowboy’ Rides: The American Film Institute kicks off its 1994 Favorite Film Series Wednesday at the Directors Guild of America with an evening commemorating the 25th anniversary of United Artist’s “Midnight Cowboy,” the only X-rated film to win the Oscar for best picture. The event will reunite the filmmakers and stars, including director John Schlesinger and actors Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight and Brenda Vacarro. United Artists is re-releasing the film in theaters Feb. 25.

RADIO

Feeding on Its Own: At KFI-AM (640), which prides itself on being controversial, even its own talk-show hosts are fair game. On Thursday night, reacting to reports that Rush Limbaugh had been hired to follow in the footsteps of Anita Bryant and Burt Reynolds as commercial pitchman for Florida orange juice, KFI host Stephanie Miller urged listeners to join her in a boycott of the product, calling Limbaugh a “right-wing, homophobic bigot.” Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated radio program airs weekdays on the very same KFI.

‘Streets’ Smart: Hip-hop station KPWR-FM (105.9) has a hit on its hands with a benefit album released last month. “Straight From Da Streets,” a compilation of 16 hit songs, this week became the No. 1-selling record in Los Angeles, according to Soundscan tabulations. Proceeds from the album will go toward building a Performing Arts/Training Center for Los Angeles youth on city-owned property. The station, which is seeking listener donations and corporate sponsorship, hopes to raise $2.5 million toward construction.

PEOPLE

Roseanne’s Latest: On Monday’s “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Roseanne Arnold says she has multiple personalities or what she calls “dissociative identity disorder.” In the first of what will probably be many interviews promoting her new book, “My Lives,” Arnold says 20 people “share my body.”. . . Arnold also makes an appearance on Friday’s “20/20,” which also features what is being billed as the first interview with the daughter Arnold gave up at birth 22 years ago.

Bank on the Diva: Soprano Jessye Norman helped foil a bank break-in in Boston and has a security guard’s badge for her trouble. Norman and her chauffeur were entering Symphony Hall earlier this week when someone broke a window of a bank across the street. The diva rushed inside the hall and asked a guard to call police. A man was charged with breaking and entering, but police said he may have been looking for a warm place to sleep. The bank’s president made Norman an honorary security guard and is making a $1,000 donation to Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concerts in her name.