FIRST OFF . . .

When the annual Children’s Miracle Network telethon takes the air Sunday for 21 consecutive hours from Disneyland, it not only will be carried by stations across the United States but also will be broadcast in the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union. The telethon’s organizers believe this is the first time a U.S.-based telethon has aired in those countries. The event traditionally raises money to benefit children’s hospitals throughout North America, and this year it also will help raise funds for children’s hospitals in the Soviet Union and China. The telethon will include a live performance by a Russian youth choir and a split-screen telecast with hosts in the Soviet Union and Marie Osmond and John Schneider as the U.S. hosts. The telethon will be seen on Channel 9 starting Saturday at 6 p.m. (Channel 3 in Santa Barbara also starts the telethon Saturday at 6 p.m.; Channel 8 in San Diego tunes in at 7 p.m.). Since it started in 1983, the telethon has raised $170 million for children’s hospitals.