MORNING REPORT - News from Sept. 7, 2000

TELEVISION

Strike Support: The cast of NBC’s “Frasier” will throw its weight behind the Screen Actors Guild’s 5-month-old commercials strike by asking the TV academy to urge ABC not to air any nonunion ads during Sunday’s Emmy telecast. In addition, stars Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, John Mahoney and Jane Leeves have pledged to wear gold ribbons during the awards show to demonstrate their support for the strike.

Ad Nauseam: Adults without children are nearly as likely as those with kids in the house to find aspects of prime-time programming “morally objectionable,” based on a study conducted on behalf of the advertising agency McCann-Erickson. According to the study, 37% of adults with children said they found language, sexuality, violence or nudity on TV offensive, compared to 33% of adults without kids. The agency is using the data to support its concern about a shortage of “family-friendly” prime-time programming.

POP/ROCK

Reading Behind the Music: VH1 will team with Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books for a book series based on the cable channel’s successful “Behind the Music” TV series, with the first tome to focus on country music star Willie Nelson. A fall release is planned.

Bono Joins U.N. Summit: U2 frontman Bono is at this week’s United Nations Millennium Summit in New York, where he will continue his efforts for Jubilee 2000 by presenting the historic gathering of world leaders with a petition calling for the cancellation of the debts of the poorest countries. More than 21 million people around the world have signed Jubilee 2000’s petition calling for the debt cancellation, the effort’s organizers say.

QUICK TAKES

Writer-producer Dick Wolf is negotiating with NBC for a possible third “Law & Order” series, with the proposed show to be ready as early as next season. Both the original “L&O;”--currently TV’s longest-running drama--and its year-old spin-off, “Special Victims Unit,” have been drawing strong ratings. . . . Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Michel Camilo, Celia Cruz, Djavan, Sheila E., Alejandro Fernandez, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Mana, Ricky Martin, Miami Sound Machine, Tito Puente Jr., David Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, Carlos Santana, Shakira and Dave Valentin have been added to the performers list for the first Latin Grammy Awards, airing Wednesday on CBS. They join the previously announced Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, ‘N Sync and Son by Four. . . . Santana will aim to extend his “Supernatural” reign by releasing “Supernatural Live--An Evening With Carlos Santana and Friends,” an interactive DVD set to hit stores on Tuesday. The disc features footage from Fox TV’s concert version of the nine-time Grammy-winning album, plus video versions of several songs. . . . Native American actor-activist Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman (“Dances With Wolves,” “The Doors”) will announce plans today for Red Crow Creations, a film and TV production effort being touted as Hollywood’s first Native American film studio. The first project is a 35-millimeter documentary titled “Exterminate Them! America’s War on Indian Nations.”