Many of us who worked there knew it could happen. Hell, most of us realized at a point that it would happen. And since November, 2005, when Ted Koppel was politely but clearly asked to clean out his desk, and take his umpteen Emmy's and duPonts home with him, the clock was ticking on how long Nightline had as a show at ABC.
Well, it's lasted over three years, but it's unclear if it will make it to four. As Bill Carter reports for Thursday's New York Times, ABC executives are moving fast to counter NBC by moving their excuse for late night humor, Jimmy Kimmel, into a competitive slot with Conan O'Brien and his Tonight Show.
As one who knew what Nightline once represented, and knew what it took to earn that place, I have very bittersweet feelings.
It's just plain said that a show that fired regularly, and consistently, on all eight cylinders, was treated the way it was by news and corporate executives at ABC. It seems like only yesterday, even though it was 2002, that David Letterman spared us from having Nightline taken from the air.
Sure, that was the first public salvo. Koppel's not so public execution was the second. and now, in a New York Times story sure to be denied by both ABC executives in LA and ABC News honchos in NY, we have what is likely the third and final straw.
Broadcast journalism has come a long way over the past 60 years. Perhaps it's been full circle. From brief newscasts produced visibly by corporate sponsors, today we cover corporate actions and tabloid tales, occasionally digressing to present some depth, some perspective, perhaps even some insight.
Nightline can rightly claim to be the godfather of today's cable talkfests. But that's not what it was all about. It was about shining a light on an issue, and focusing that light until all could see what was before them. It was about questioning power with truth, and occasionally putting truth to power. It was about a willingness to let an interview pass if handlers were more concerned about conditions than news. And is was about being there for an audience, an audience built carefully over time by Koppel and a team of diligent and caring producers who toiled in rough places to bring hard stories to bright screens in dark rooms across the country.
Nightline is needed now, especially at a time where there are no clear heirs to this style and format. It would clearly be a shame for the show, even in present form, to be summarily dismissed from the air. Let's hope that truth and justice win out.
For one, I am not sanguine, this time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Jon I watched a fair amount of Nightline shows. I really enjoyed most of them except for the time slot which was 11:35 in NJ. That was to me the first problem. People are winding down at that time not revving up. Second, laughing at 11:30 regardless of which show you choose is easier than joining the Nightline crew+Ted and digging in for an hour of analytics. So even though the show was successful in that time slot, it took a Ted Koeppel to maintain an advantage in the form of his personal integrity and excellence with super research support. The Internet now allows us to do more freelancing and blogging to build a sound base of understanding of just about any topic. We are just less dependent on high profile personas in almost every area of news. So I don't think the demise of Nightline should be read as a rejection of quality news but an option/choice created by the rapid developments in sources of quality information accessible 24/7 at the convenience of the user. ABC's reasoning is obviously profit driven. Serious thinkers do need their sleep you know! Maybe Nightline can be relocated into an earlier time slot, enhanced with some direct connections to their audience who certainly value "guidance" and "mentoring" from Nightline but not necessarily a neatly packaged conclusion or call for action. The era of the Ted Koppels is simply over not because people don't value his expertise but they simply don't want to rely too much on a single source of information and analysis. Diversification!
Post a Comment