BAKER FAVORED TO HEAD WNET

NEW YORK — The committee looking for a new president for public-television’s flagship station here has decided to nominate a commercial broadcaster--William F. Baker, president of Westinghouse Broadcasting’s TV group, officials at WNET-TV said Friday.

The selection must be approved by WNET’s 34-member board of trustees. A meeting date has not been set but one is expected to be held soon, according to the station officials, who asked that their names not be used.

Baker would replace John Jay Iselin, who said last fall that he would step down in June after 13 years as president of the nation’s largest public-TV station.

Baker, a longtime executive of the Westinghouse broadcasting division, has held his current post since 1979. The company owns TV and radio stations and a production company based in Los Angeles.