Koppel leaving ‘Nightline’ as an era draws to a close

In the latest sign of the generational transition sweeping network news, Ted Koppel, whose judge-like gravitas and probing interviewing style have been the hallmarks of ABC’s late-night news program “Nightline” for 25 years, will leave the network when his contract expires in early December, the network said Thursday.

Koppel is leaving Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC after years of jockeying with network executives over the fate of “Nightline,” which has suffered declining ratings amid the rise of cable news channels and a fragmenting TV audience. But in an interview, the 65-year-old newsman made it clear that he intends to keep working, even if his next gig is not yet lined up.

After ABC News President David Westin sent the staff a memo about Koppel’s departure at 11 a.m. Eastern time, “the first job offer came in at 11:01,” Koppel said. “My wife said, ‘OK, so when does the second one come in?’ ”

Koppel declined to say what the offer was, but noted that he was keeping his options open. “I want to go on making great television,” he said. “I think there’s room for it, I think there’s a market for it, and there are people who still want it.”

In the memo, Westin wrote: “Ted believes this is the right time for him to leave. As much as I will regret his leaving, he is firm in his conviction, and I respect his decision.”

Koppel becomes the third network news icon to step down in the past four months. Tom Brokaw retired from “NBC Nightly News” in December, and Dan Rather left “CBS Evening News” last month. All three rose through the network ranks during the tumultuous Vietnam and Watergate eras and had been among a handful of figures dominating the TV news landscape since the early 1980s.

News veterans were saddened but not surprised to learn of Koppel’s exit. “Nightline” grew out of what was expected to be a short-term news program, “The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage,” which ABC put on to track developments after Iranians seized the U.S. Embassy in 1979. The show developed a loyal audience by devoting a half-hour to a single topic, often (but not always) on the day’s top story. But the rise of cable news networks and Internet news sites has made it hard for the program to stay relevant.

“ ‘Nightline’ is a great program,” said Richard Wald, a former ABC News executive who now teaches journalism at Columbia University in New York. “But it has in the past few years fallen prey to the change in society and the change in all of our lives. That problem doesn’t go away easily.”

The future of “Nightline” has made for an awkward subject at ABC since 2002, when executives made a failed bid to lure David Letterman into hosting a new entertainment program in the 11:35 p.m. time slot. Koppel, angry that he had been uninformed of the talks until a reporter inquired about them, ultimately made an uneasy peace with the network, but it became clear that ABC did not necessarily see the show as a long-term player. In recent months, the news division has been developing pilots for possible “Nightline” replacements, as well as considering expanding the existing show to a full hour, produced live (“Nightline” is typically taped).

Koppel said Thursday that he and his longtime executive producer, Tom Bettag, had long intended to leave “Nightline” at the end of their current contracts. But the pair clearly hoped the network would give the remaining staff a longer-term commitment to the show.

“There were bumps along the way, and the Letterman thing was obviously one of them,” Koppel said.

Before Koppel left on a three-week vacation last month, Bettag said and others confirmed, Westin gave him a proposal with two options: either host an expanded “Nightline” or take over “This Week,” ABC’s Sunday public-affairs program that has suffered low ratings with current host George Stephanopoulos. But Bettag, who is also leaving the network, said neither alternative seemed particularly appealing to Koppel.

“At Ted’s stage, to do five nights a week live at 11:30 ... just wasn’t a workable thing,” Bettag said. As for “This Week,” Koppel was unexcited by the traditional Sunday newsmaker format. “We’re inclined to be more ambitious than that.”

Bettag said the two hope to develop long-form programming for another network, possibly on cable. Koppel, who has been with ABC for 42 years, said he had ruled out doing daily journalism again, but little else: “I’ve learned never say no till you know what you’re saying no to,” he said.

Many considered the program’s cancellation inevitable after the Letterman imbroglio and ABC’s exploration of potential replacement programs. But some of the roughly 40 staffers found hope in Westin’s memo, which said: “Ted and Tom have provided us with the time we need to segue to the next chapter in the illustrious history of ‘Nightline.’ ”