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

TELEVISION

TV Exec Apologizes for Comment on Attacks

ABC News President David Westin apologized Wednesday for a statement he made last week to a group of journalism students in New York about the Sept. 11 attacks.

Asked if the Pentagon was a legitimate target for terrorists, he had responded that it was fine to take sides in his private life, “but as a journalist I feel strongly that’s something that I should not be taking a position on.”

After his comments were carried on C-SPAN and drew public criticism, Westin explained that he was just trying to illustrate a “broad academic principle” of distinguishing between facts and personal opinion.

“Under any interpretation, the attack on the Pentagon was criminal and entirely without justification,” he said Wednesday.

“I apologize for any harm that my misstatement may have caused.”

CNN Attempts to Put War in Perspective

CNN executives--sensitive to charges that TV images of errant U.S. bombs landing in residential areas and on a Red Cross warehouse fuel critics of the American war effort--are wary of being seen as reporting uncritically from the perspective of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime.

In a memo issued to the staff, Rick Davis, CNN executive vice president of standards and practices, directed that “each and every report from inside” Afghanistan be accompanied by a reminder that the U.S.-led bombing is in response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks that killed thousands.

Also on the CNN front: Bobbie Battista joins the exodus of other longtime news anchors. Friday is her last day as host of the network’s “TalkBack Live.”

ABC Agrees to Limit Jackson Appearance

An ABC special tonight featuring Michael Jackson and his New York charity concert, “United We Stand,” will not show Jackson performing solo.

The network agreed to the wishes of Jackson’s representatives, who asked that the singer appear only during the grand finale with other celebrities. A solo performance, they feared, might affect ratings for the upcoming CBS special, “Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Celebration,” which took place at New York’s Madison Square Garden in September.

QUICK TAKES

After a decade of debate about the size and style of a suitable tribute, construction is underway for a Holocaust memorial in Berlin. A vast field of nearly 3,000 concrete columns, it will be built near the Brandenburg Gate and the site of Hitler’s wartime bunker.... Saturday will mark the premiere of “Cafe California” on KCET-TV. The 30-minute show, described as a “SoCal Latino ‘Politically Incorrect,”’ will air at 4:30 p.m. ... Sony will release Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down,” a military action drama about the ill-fated 1993 mission to Somalia, for an Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York on Dec. 28. It will open in wide release on Jan. 18.... Nickelodeon’s “Rugrats” today adds audio description for blind and visually impaired viewers.... William Morris Vice Chairman Jerry Katzman, who represented clients such as Candice Bergen and Kelsey Grammer in his 30 years at the agency, has joined the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television .... Variety reports that Jennifer Lopez will receive $12 million and a percentage of the back-end profits to co-star with Ben Affleck in Martin Brest’s “Gigli,” playing a gunslinger who falls in love with the hit man she’s supervising.