aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Drat! Koppel’s leaving
Ted Koppel, who during a quarter century as the host of “Nightline” on ABC provided a hard-news alternative to the monologues and light banter of Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman, will leave the network when his contract expires in early December, ABC News announced today.
Mr. Koppel said in an interview that he had informed ABC of his decision earlier this week and did not yet know what he might do next. It was not immediately clear how ABC intends to replace him or whether “Nightline” would continue after he leaves.
But there’s still hope for Koppel fans like me:
Asked what those jobs might be, Mr. Koppel said only: “There are some very interesting prospects out there, let’s put it that way.”
Even as my demographic is disparaged:
In recent months, ABC executives have asked the leaders of various divisions within the network - including news, entertainment and sports - to develop proposals for alternative programming for the “Nightline” slot (including an overhauled “Nightline") that might prove more popular than Mr. Koppel’s program and draw a younger audience. [B mine]
4/1 UPDATE: More today.
