Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

ENTERTAINMENT

‘Springer’ Tricks?: Sixteen former “Jerry Springer” guests tell correspondent Diane Dimond on today’s “Extra” (airing at 7 p.m. on KNBC-TV Channel 4) that their appearances on the hit talk/slugfest were heavily scripted. “We acted everything. . . . When you have to punch, when you have to push. They wanted us to wrestle and throw each other around,” said one former guest identified as “Gary.” Another, “Kelly,” said she played a woman who was cheating on her boyfriend, but “I didn’t even know the two guys.” Contacted Wednesday, a “Springer” show spokesman said: “Our guests are required to be truthful in their rendition of personal experiences and sign a legal statement of such compliance. [The show] uses its best efforts to avoid being tricked or defrauded, but . . . like any news or magazine show, cannot guarantee that such efforts will always be successful.” Responding to criticism of its content and violence, “Springer” last week began running parental advisories warning of possible “adult themes, strong language or violence.”

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Arbitron Alert: The Arbitron radio ratings service will reissue today its latest quarterly rankings for Los Angeles stations. Tom Mocarsky, a company vice president, said that “a software glitch inadvertently [failed to count] 24 [listener] diaries out of 6,897” for the March report. Calling it “a tiny number of diaries,” Mocarsky noted: “I would not be surprised if nothing changed, but I couldn’t swear to you that would be the outcome.”

Teen Idols Unite: Former teen heartthrobs Peter Noone (of Herman’s Hermits), Davy Jones (of the Monkees) and Bobby Sherman will join together for “Teen Idols,” a national summer concert tour featuring the songs that made girls swoon in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The tour, which show organizers called “our answer to the Three Tenors,” will stop July 21 at the Orange County Fair. The tour will mark Sherman’s first public performances in 25 years.

QUICK TAKES

A bill to raise California’s per capita arts spending from 39 cents to $1 is advancing through the state Legislature. Introduced by Sen. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the bill--which was approved by the Senate Governmental Organization Committee Tuesday--would increase the California Arts Council budget to $35 million from its current $12.7 million. Schiff said California’s arts funding currently ranks 46th in the nation. . . . Outlandish basketball star Dennis Rodman will star next season in a syndicated action series, “S.O.F. Special Ops Force.” The series, about a group of covert military operatives, is from film producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Con Air,” “Top Gun”).