A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEWS.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

When David Letterman invited news anchor Daljit Dhaliwal onto his late- night talk show, he gushed that watching her show, ``World News for Public Television'' (seen weekdays at 5 p.m. on KCET, ``makes you feel better about life, about the world and about yourself.''

Nonetheless, Dhaliwal admits that TV journalism's performance on Election Night would hardly make anyone feel better about anything. During a whirlwind West Coast publicity swing for her show that included a brief stop in a KCET boardroom, she conceded that TV reporters blew it - as Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney might put it - ``big time.''

``There's no denying what Tom Brokaw said - there's enough egg on our faces to make an omelet,'' says the 38-year-old anchor from London. ``We always knew it would be tight, but we just didn't know that it was going to hang on Florida, and that there were going to be other issues that were going to spring up around it. It's a fascinating story, absolutely incredible. Every time you turn on the television or pick up the paper, there's a different dimension to it. When will it all stop? Hopefully, before President Clinton leaves office. No room for fuzzy math here, is there?''

Even in England, where her show is produced by Independent Television News, she notes, there was the same rush to judgment, based on exit-poll results reported by America's Voter News Service, which offered erroneous results to the country. ``We did the same,'' she admits. ``We were watching the results of the exit polls, which are the same as MSNBC, CNN and the BBC as well. I was sitting there, my jaw just dropped, just watching it going back and forth and getting up the following morning - too close to call. In this business, it's really important to have more than one source. It's up to every news organization to have their own checks and balances.''

Though her show is seen on 98 stations across the country, Dhaliwal is perhaps best-known for her appearance on ``Late Show With David Letterman,'' which has invited her back for a second visit, tentatively scheduled for next month. When she recently went on vacation, Letterman's show called England, panic-stricken, afraid she had taken a job elsewhere.

Dhaliwal (pronounce her name ``DAL-jit DAL-iwal,'' and she's happy) says the success of her show is attributable to the fact that she allows ``American viewers to see what's going on around the world and see the news in a serious context.'' She acknowledges, with a laugh, that many fans contrast her favorably with hyperkinetic, brain-dead local news shows.

``A lot of viewers feel that (local news broadcasts are) very sensationalized and there's too much time spent in bantering between co-anchors and that once you've turned it off, you haven't the faintest idea what's happened,'' she says. ``I would tend to agree.'' That her show refuses to engage in partisan editorializing (think MSNBC or Fox News Channel) makes it all the more valuable for news hounds.

Still, she concedes that the Letterman appearance has changed her profile. ``There's no getting around the fact that we live in the era of celebrity, and more so in the U.S.,'' she admits. Preparing to meet Letterman on TV was a nerve-racking assignment: ``Friends said to have a top-10 list and everyone was completely winding me up about it, and I said, 'No, I'm just going to be myself.' And that's what I did, and it was over very quickly. I hardly had time to get a word in edgewise.''

Dhaliwal remains mindful of her persona despite the sundry calls from the American hype machine. ``When People Magazine rang and said, 'We want to include you in our list of the 50 most beautiful people (in 1999), I said, 'What's your definition of ``beautiful''?' That was the first thing that came to mind. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just about physical attributes.''

The best way to gauge Dhaliwal's opinions may not be to go off her comments but her laughter. She's very diplomatic on all issues, but note that her competing anchors of the British Broadcasting Co. - where she used to work - stare at the camera like they're attempting to bore holes through the viewers, and her laughter is uproarious and infectious.

``It would put me off, too,'' she says, with a laugh. Of small children who might encounter BBC anchors, she suggested, ``They were terrified. It's something a lot of American friends of mine have pointed out. There's a lack of warmth there.''

Still, Dhaliwal doesn't want to get so warm and fuzzy that people know what's going on inside her head. Of coverage of the recent election, she noted, ``I don't really want to know what my news anchor's opinion is - sorry, not interested. I can formulate my own opinion.''

Which is? Dhaliwal assumes her best anchorwoman's poker face. ``That the best man will win - what can I say?''

``WORLD NEWS FOR PUBLIC TELEVISION''

What: Nightly news series from England's Independent Television Network.

Where: KCET.

When: 5 p.m. weeknights.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Daljit Dhaliwal, anchor of ``World News for Public Television,'' says that, unlike its competitors, her show allows Americans to ``see the news in a serious context.''