DREYFUSS DISSES HAIG, AND CNN REINVENTS 'HEADLINE'.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

Richard Dreyfuss, who portrays Alexander Haig in the Showtime docudrama ``The Day Reagan Was Shot,'' on Thursday observed before a group of television critics, ``The most interesting thing about this script is that, in a funny way, it's very balanced. It's very fair. You know, the incompetence and pomposity is spread all around pretty equally.''

Of his character, who memorably (and incorrectly) declared himself to be in charge of the country at one point in the 1981 crisis, Dreyfuss added, ``I don't think it was that he's out of whack. I just think - I guess, I do. I think he's out of whack, but the show isn't.''

Of Haig's presumptuous announcement, Dreyfuss noted, ``I think the sin is a venal sin. It's not a mortal sin. But given those circumstances, and given the kind of Machiavellian crew that was behind him, he wasn't going to survive a gaffe like that. It really is quite an amazing moment, but it's not the worst thing that someone ever did.''

THE CABLE FRONTIER: Michael Dorn, who played Worf on ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ``Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,'' has logged more intergalactic hours than any other actor. Which means he's also spent more time under great gobs of makeup than any other actor.

``You never got used to it, ever,'' said Dorn, who appeared at a session for The National Network (formerly The Nashville Network) announcing its acquisition of ``The Next Generation.'' And I know exactly how I felt the first time I put it on. I thought that my career was over, because the character was hideous-looking. You know, when you first see him.

``And I just thought, 'OK, this is it, I'm going to be typecast as this character,' because it was just hideous-looking. But over the years, he became, you know, more and more handsome. But it's still something that you just never get used to. I mean, as long as I've done it, I still hate (the makeup).

``But, you know, it's a funny thing,'' he continued. ``You've got to be careful of what you ask for, because at the time of 'Star Trek,' there were two movies with huge, huge makeup transitions: 'Mask' and 'The Elephant Man.' And, you know, most of us actors are kind of going, 'You know, wow, wouldn't it be great to do something in makeup?' And I forgot to leave out, 'Just for a year.' ''

CLOCKING IN: Jamie Kellner, chairman and CEO of the Turner Broadcasting System, Walter Isaacson, chairman and CEO of CNN, and Teya Ryan, executive vice president and general manager of CNN Headline News, unveiled the new look for CNN Headline News - a round news set (accented by a clock's hash marks on the floor) around which sundry anchors pitch stories and a screen chockablock with text and graphics, much like a page on the Internet. Among those anchors: Andrea Thompson, former ``NYPD Blue'' actress.

``I was absolutely surprised to get here as quickly as I did,'' Thompson admitted. ``I'd say there are a combination of factors (for that). Certainly, I am not a seasoned journalist - I am, as Teya has so often put it, a 'promising' journalist. I am someone who has demonstrated to the management at CNN my dedication, my passion and my willingness to do whatever it is to bring the news to you in a fair, balanced and accurate manner. If my stardom or past has something to do with that, then what I say is, you know what? Use me, baby.''

Ryan declared that Headline News' target audience will be what she dubbed ``Time Warriors,'' which basically seemed to be really busy people. ``Time warriors are people in motion, baby boomers who do more, manage more, make more decisions, all in the course of a day. They're people who embrace change, who live exciting lives, but for whom time is at a premium. Time Warriors, in short, are all of us.'' Except maybe for that ``exciting lives'' part.

Isaacson, new to the network, said the sundry CNN sources were going to be better integrated in the future. ``We're going to use CNN Headline and CNN Domestic, and cnn.com and, for that matter, 16 of the other services including the CNN that keeps buzzing at me on my waistband here,'' he said, referring to his pager.

``You will get news in so many formats and so many ways and there will be a brand name that you're going to get on your pocket pager,'' he continued. ``You're going to get it on your radio. You're going to get it on your computer. You're going to get it in headline form and you're going to get it in depth on the mothership. And it is going to have the same value of journalism in any way, shape or form. You will get the depth you want, need, and we will entice you to care about the depth a bit more.'

THAT'S OUR Q: Quincy Jones, the legendary music producer and recording artist working on the documentary series ``Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America'' for VH-1 in October, stated, ``African-American history is all in the music. I mean, every drop of it is in the music from the very beginning. You can leave the history books at home and just get the record from the era and you'll know what happens at that time.''

Which, of course, provided a challenge when putting the series together. ``That's why we have to have real good representation of all the genres,'' Jones said. ``It's very difficult to do in five hours. You know, Ken Burns, had, what, 18 hours? Eighteen hours to do just jazz (in his PBS miniseries). And this is the whole shebang.''