Country Goes Pop; Nashville Crooners Fashion a Hip, Sleeker Video Image

Not so long ago, any mention of country music and television in the same breath brought to mind a single calcified image: the cornfields of "Hee Haw."

But no more. Nashville wants to scratch those itchy baby boom remote controls and draw in the unsuspecting before they realize they're watching - ugh! - country. And it's doing so with the same sleek, sexy, rapid-cut images that helped MTV build its audience over the past 12 years.

"We feel like we're getting a lot of viewers from people who're interested in the different pop areas," says George Flanigen, president of the Deaton…