You Listening to Me?If you’re reading this...

You Listening to Me?

If you’re reading this any time between 5 a.m. (type-A personality) and 10 a.m. (slacker), you can catch the debut of the controversial, curmudgeonly Don Imus on L.A. radio--KLAC-AM (570) in Glendale and KMEN-AM (1290) in Riverside. Imus, a longtime radio vet whose show originates from New York City, gained recent notoriety with his caustic humor directed at President Clinton and the first lady at a dinner in Washington. It’s the same approach found on his radio show, which tends to focus on the dubious doings in D.C. but also includes jabs at the culture at large. Imus’ success here may depend on stealing listeners from all the talk competition, especially Howard Stern, whose New York-based show on KLSX-FM (97.1) is usually on, or near, the top of the local drive-time ratings. Imus could draw those otherwise erudite listeners who only listen to Stern because they’re smart enough to know it’s all a joke. Uh. Yeah. Sure. One slight advantage for Imus may be that his show starts one hour earlier than Stern’s. Will the early bird get the worms?

The Fall Season: It’s Just a Hype Away

More than 150 television critics and reporters descend on Pasadena this week. (And you thought the alien invasion in “Independence Day” was scary.) The scribes are here for the Television Critics Assn. tour, a twice-annual ritual that begins today. The three-week publicity marathon provides writers from around the country an opportunity to interview executives and stars from the networks, as well as cable, PBS, syndication and the fledgling Warner Bros. and Paramount (UPN) networks. How many times will these words be uttered?: “We’re really excited about our fall lineup.” And that’s what this is all about: The industry types deliver the well-rehearsed party line, which they hope the writers will lap up and distribute to the Great American Viewing Public. WB, preparing to add a third night of programming, leads off the event. (We’re attending mostly in the hope of meeting their mascot, Michigan J. Frog.)

Rock Royalty Offers His Kingdom for a Hit

Hey, newsprint is expensive these days, so we’re just going to call him Prince. Anyway, there’s much at stake when his latest album, “Chaos and Disorder,” arrives Tuesday. He claims it’s the last album he owes Warner Bros. Records (they won’t confirm) and the sales response could determine how far other labels may go to meet the enigmatic artist’s creative and financial demands. The upside is that this album is his most appealing work since the acclaimed “Dirty Mind”-to-”Purple Rain” period in the ‘80s. Good thing, because Prince needs to make like Dennis Rodman and rebound--his sales have slipped dramatically in the ‘90s. “Diamonds and Pearls,” which has sold 2.3 million copies domestically since its 1991 release, was his last genuine smash. Some companies may be wary because the prolific artist has been so outspoken in his complaints about Warner, even wearing the word “slave” across his cheek in videos. But a blockbuster showing could go a long way toward establishing a new purple reign.

These ‘Billboards’ Have Been Up for a While

Speaking of Prince, it’s his music that’s heard in the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago’s “Billboards,” which is being reprised at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Thursday night through Sunday afternoon. Although the Joffrey danced excerpts from “Billboards” in its mixed repertory programs on tour this season, L.A. audiences will get the complete, four-part rock extravaganza--and nothing else--in the engagement. Returning to Los Angeles for the third time since its 1993 premiere (it’s also aired on PBS and is available on home video), the plotless work has choreography by Laura Dean, Charles Moulton, Margo Sappington and Peter Pucci. Impresario James A. Doolittle says “Billboards” has done “exceptionally well [in L.A.]--around 90% capacity for ‘93, 80% to 85% for ’94. Repertory wasn’t considered because the company was looking for additional playing time for ‘Billboards’ alone.” Or maybe they just had a lot of programs left over from the last engagement.

It Sure Beats Sitting in a New York Studio

Standing out among the list of media moguls who’ll attend the annual Sun Valley conference of entertainment executives this week in Idaho is NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, the only journalist and sole NBC representative expected at the event. An NBC News spokeswoman explained that the anchor is a friend of the event’s organizer, investment banker Herbert Allen, and likes to attend because it “gives him insight on big business.” Oh, as if he hasn’t seen enough as an employee of General Electric.

Morning Report will continue Tuesday through Saturday.