SMALL SCREEN THE BUZZ ON TELEVISION.

Byline: - Compiled by Valerie Kuklenski

TRADING PLACES: KNBC reporter Conan Nolan recently took part in an exchange program that had him filing reports in Beirut, Lebanon, for the Middle East Broadcasting Center as well as his home station. Last week, KNBC hosted MEBC's Raya Avi Rached, who gathered interviews and other footage for reports to be seen here and on her own network. The exchange program, in which reporters from five U.S. cities swapped jobs with reporters from five Middle Eastern countries, was established by San Francisco producer Mike Cerre in response to Sept. 11, but its purpose was broader. Nolan's stories included one on Lebanon's obsession with American pop culture and selmage, and another on its efforts to demolish war-torn structures and rebuild a clean, modern metropolis. Nolan said he believes MEBC viewers would react favorably to his stories. ``They were very happy that somebody was there to show pictures of a city where you don't need a flak jacket to walk around anymore,'' he said. ``They're tired of that image.'' Rached is putting together a documentary about Hollywood-fed stereotypes of Middle Easterners, which includes interviews with actors Tony Shalhoub, Jamie Farr and Kathy Najimy. That report will air on Channel 4 in the future.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN: For another week, network prime time offers mainly repeats, but the new syndicated season is in full swing today. Meredith Vieira takes Regis Philbin's seat on the syndicated ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (7:30 p.m., KCBS Channel 2), while ``Home Improvement'' co-star and hardware pitchman Richard Karn is the latest to announce what the ``survey says'' on ``Family Feud'' (6:30 p.m., KCAL Channel 9). In the talk-show field, the host of ``The Rob Nelson Show,'' who recently installed his own L.A. billboard in a desperate publicity attempt, jumps in with segments on the perils of street racing and how to deal with bullies (2 p.m., KCOP Channel 13), while Ricki Lake kicks off her 10th season with a look back at her past, featuring director John Waters and the cast of Broadway's `'Hairspray'' (9 a.m., KCOP). If you find seances intriguing, check out ``Beyond With James Van Praagh'' (1 p.m., KTLA Channel 5), whose host promises to chat with the dead on a daily basis.

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4 photos

Photo:

(1) NOLAN

(2 -- 4) MEREDITH VIEIRA, above, RICHARD KARN, left, JAMES VAN PRAAGH, below, host their own TV shows.