Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

TELEVISION

Latinos in the News: Of the estimated 12,000 reports on the big three networks’ national evening newscasts, only 139 stories--just over 1%--focused on Latinos, according to a new study commissioned by the National Assn. of Hispanic Journalists and the National Council of La Raza. And of those stories, 80% were deemed to be unfavorable, centering on illegal immigrants, criminals or people with social problems. Immigration accounted for 55 stories, while 23 dealt with affirmative action, 21 were on crime and 12 each on politics and drugs. Forty-two of the stories--including several on immigration and others on the Loretta Sanchez/Robert Dornan congressional campaign--originated from California. Nationwide, Latinos make up about 15% of the population.

POP/ROCK

Date With Bush: Six hundred winners of Miller Genuine Draft’s Blind Date contest, which promised a show by “one huge band” at a small, intimate venue, were treated to a 90-minute set by rockers Bush at the Palace in Hollywood Wednesday. “We’re the big secret,” joked Gavin Rossdale, the group’s lead singer. “Someone told me they thought Tina Turner was playing, but you got Bush instead.” Veruca Salt was the opening act. Future “Blind Date” concerts, with different bands, are scheduled for San Francisco (July 18) and Chicago (September).

Genesis Picks New Singer: Genesis today will announce the band’s new singer--an unknown Scottish native named Ray Wilson. Wilson, 28, will be the rock group’s third singer, following Phil Collins, who left last year, and original vocalist Peter Gabriel. Founding member Tony Banks (keyboards) said: “We listened to hundreds of tapes, but Ray’s voice really stood out. It had a quality that really moved me. His voice harks back more to early Genesis.” Wilson will debut on the band’s forthcoming album, “Calling All Stations,” which is scheduled for release in late summer.

MOVIES

Reeve’s Senate Plea: Actor Christopher Reeve made an impassioned plea to Congress Thursday to devote more money for research on brain and spinal cord injuries. Reeve, who has become an advocate for people with disabilities since being paralyzed in a horseback riding accident two years ago, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee that although advances are being made, more funding is needed. “It is imperative the public and more importantly our elected representatives understand that research today is not speculative. It is not a waste of money,” Reeve said. Reeve also testified that he’s recently regained sensation down the length of his spine, and believes that medical advances could put him on his feet within five years.

Awards Night at the Drive-In: MTV goes retro tonight when the Pacific Theaters Vineland 4 Drive-In (443 N. Vineland Ave., City of Industry) shows all five “Movie of the Year” nominees for the 1997 MTV Movie Awards, which air on the cable TV channel Thursday at 9 p.m. Movies featured at the event, which is hosted by radio station KKBT-FM (92.3), are “The Rock,” “Independence Day,” “Scream,” “Jerry Maguire” and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.” Admission is $5 per car; gates open at 7:30 p.m. . . . MTV announced Thursday, meanwhile, that its annual best new filmmaker award will go to Doug Liman, director of “Swingers.”

ART

Villa Borghese to Reopen: Rome’s 17th century Villa Borghese museum, renowned for its collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture, is reopening this month after 13 years of renovations. The June 29 inauguration gala is the first step in the revival of the 200-acre Villa Borghese gardens, which houses four museums (two of which will open with new exhibition spaces). The main museum was closed in 1984 after a 10-square-foot chunk of ceiling fell. Weaknesses in the foundations were discovered when sections of the ancient catacombs below collapsed.

QUICK TAKES

Comedian Paula Poundstone will join “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” this fall as a roving correspondent, presenting lifestyle pieces from around the country on a recurring basis. . . . Fox will add to its original summer programming with a two-night adaptation of Dean Koontz’s bestseller “Intensity.” The miniseries will air Aug. 5 and 6--in the dog days of TV programming usually reserved for reruns. . . . “Baywatch” star Gena Lee Nolin, 25, gave birth to an 8-pound boy Tuesday, the first child for her and husband, Greg Fahlman. Nolin plans to return to her red swimsuit in less than six weeks to resume filming. . . . Indigo Girls fans will have two ways to view a concert by the folk duo tonight. The show from Boston’s Great Woods Amphitheatre will air here live at 6 p.m. on pay-per-view, and will be broadcast over the Internet at https://www.indigogirls.com. . . . The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Thursday gave Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone its coveted Trustees’ Award recognizing “outstanding achievement in the arts, sciences and management of television which is . . . beyond the scope of the Emmy Awards.” Previous winners of the award, presented in New York, include William S. Paley, Ted Turner, John F. Kennedy and Walter Cronkite. . . . “Chicago Hope” star Peter Berg’s wife, Elizabeth Rogers, has filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple married in 1993. . . . Tickets for the fifth annual KROQ Weenie Roast, featuring 14 bands June 14 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, go on sale Saturday at 9 a.m. at all L.A. and Orange County Tower Records, Blockbuster Music and Ritmo Latino outlets, as well as at the Irvine Meadows box office.