ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

RADIO

Spanish Alternative: The language of another L.A. radio station is going to be changing--though the format may remain similar. After three years of low-rated attempts to be an alternative to alternative-rock radio leader KROQ-FM (106.7), KLYY-FM (107.1) will be converted to a Spanish-language music station, probably before Christmas, with speculation that it will emphasize edgy, youth-oriented rock en espan~ol sounds as a Latino equivalent to KROQ. Charles Fernandez, who recently became president and CEO of New York-based station owner Big City Radio with the merger of that company and his Hispanic Internet Holdings, said Friday that KLYY, known as Y107, will continue as it is until the new format is installed, but said no decision has been made as to what the nature of the new format will be, other than it will be Spanish-language.

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New Home for Chamber Music: Starting Sunday, the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department’s live chamber music series from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art gets a new title, a new station and a new time slot. The former “Sundays at Four” series on public station KUSC-FM (91.5) will become “Sundays Live” and will air at 6 p.m. on commercial station KKGO-FM (105.1). According to executive producer Bill Vestal, KUSC had wanted a post-produced package that would have “sliced out the clicks and the pops and the coughs.” When KKGO couldn’t do it live at 4 p.m., the slot was changed to 6 p.m. This Sunday’s concert, hosted by series regular Dennis Bade, features violinist Deborah Buck, pianist Eric Charnofsky and cellist Jonas Tauber.

TELEVISION

Vets Honor Brokaw: NBC “Nightly News” anchor and managing editor Tom Brokaw will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s “Tex” McCrary Excellence in Journalism Award tonight in Riverside. The award is given to a journalist “for distinguished service to or unbiased coverage of the United States military through journalism.” Established in 1997, the award previously went to CBS’ Mike Wallace and CNN’s Bernard Shaw. Paul Bucha, a medal of honor recipient and president of the Honor Society, said Brokaw has “contributed mightily to the world’s knowledge and understanding of international affairs, including conducting the first exclusive U.S. one-on-one interview with Mikhail Gorbachev and being the only anchor to report from the scene the night the Berlin Wall fell.” Brokaw was also cited for his bestseller “The Greatest Generation,” about the men and women who came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II. Said Brokaw of being this year’s honoree: “I am extremely flattered. . . . I remain in awe of these genuine heroes.”

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Nick Moves Into Movies: Nickelodeon, the children’s TV channel, will begin airing six to eight made-for-TV movies each year based either on existing programs or contemporary children’s stories. The network will kick off the effort Dec. 4 with “Alien Vacation,” based on its series “The Journey of Allen Strange.” Other movies planned for next year feature characters from “Kenan and Kel” and “Cousin Skeeter.”

LEGAL FILE

Rap vs. Rosa: The rap group OutKast, being sued by civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks for titling a hit song after her, argued this week that the Constitution protects them from such a lawsuit. At a court proceeding in Ann Arbor, Mich., Joseph Beck, an attorney for OutKast, said Parks’ “property rights claim stops at the edge of the 1st Amendment.” Because music is part of the 1st Amendment-protected media, Beck said no authorization from Parks was needed to name a song after her. The group has said it only wanted to honor the civil rights pioneer with its Grammy-nominated song, “Rosa Parks.” But Parks, upset over the group’s “vulgarity and profanity,” sued in April, asking that her name be removed from all OutKast products. She is seeking $25,000 in damages. U.S. District Judge Barbara Hackett is expected to rule next week.

QUICK TAKES

Actor Carroll O’Connor, 75, is on the mend at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica after having surgery to repair scar tissue from an earlier gallbladder operation. He’s been there since Oct. 6 but spokeswoman Lindi Funston said Friday that he’ll go home “probably some time this weekend.” . . . Film and television star Beau Bridges will be the grand marshal of the Hollywood Christmas Parade on Nov. 28. . . . The premiere of “Greed,” a new prime-time quiz show, drew nearly 10 million viewers, nearly doubling Fox’s average Thursday night audience this season. The show that started the quiz craze, ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” returns for a 15-day run starting Sunday. . . . The fourth annual YoungStar Awards, sponsored by the Hollywood Reporter, will be broadcast live at 5 p.m. Sunday on the Internet, at https://www.aentv.com. The awards show, hosted by Melissa Joan Hart and Donny Osmond, will honor young performers in film, television, stage and music. . . . Christopher Cuomo, son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, joins ABC News as a correspondent for “20/20,” beginning Nov. 15. He previously worked for Fox News’ “Fox Files.” . . . Pierce Brosnan, the star of the James Bond movies, will be honored by his Irish hometown of Navan on Thursday. “He’s Navan’s most famous son,” said town council chairman Paddy Fitzsimons.