FIRST OFF . . .

About 2,800 members of an NBC technical union that includes 350 news writers are awaiting word on whether they’ll take to the picket lines unless a new contract is reached by midnight tonight. Negotiations on a new contract between NBC and the National Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians began in March in San Diego. The union’s current contract expires at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. A major stumbling block in the talks is the network’s desire to hire people on a daily basis. NBC seeks a two-year contract, but the union wants a four-year pact. John Krieger, a NABET spokesman, said Monday that “a strike is a possibility but not a certainty,” depending on how talks go. A strike would affect all five NBC-owned TV stations, including KNBC-TV in Burbank. Meanwhile, a Writers Guild strike of 525 news writers and graphic artists against CBS and ABC began its fifth week Monday, with no resolution of a major stumbling block--also daily hires--in sight.