Ted Koppel

Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is an American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline, from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005.

Before Nightline, he spent 20 years as a broadcast journalist and news anchor for ABC. After becoming host of Nightline, he was regarded as one of the outstanding serious-minded interviewers on American television. Five years after its 1980 debut, the show had a nightly audience of about 7.5 million viewers.<ref>"Meet Mr. Perfect of television news", The Washington Post, April 6, 1985</ref>

After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel, a news analyst for NPR and BBC World News America and a contributor to Rock Center with Brian Williams. Since 2016, Koppel has served as Senior Contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning. His career as a foreign and diplomatic correspondent earned him numerous awards, including nine Overseas Press Club awards and 43 Emmy Awards.

Early life and education

Edward James Martin Koppel,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> an only child, was born in Nelson, England. His parents were German Jews who fled Germany after the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> In Germany, Koppel's father operated a tire-manufacturing company. To help the British economy, the Home Secretary invited him and his wife to move the factory to Lancashire, England, where he was promised they would be protected in the event of war.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> The factory moved in 1936, but when war broke out in Europe in 1939, Koppel's father was declared an enemy alien and imprisoned on the Isle of Man for approximately a year.<ref name=Ehrlichman/>

Koppel was born in 1940, shortly after his father was taken away. To provide for her infant son, his mother sold her personal jewelry and did menial work in London.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> After he was released from internment, Koppel's father was not permitted to work in England, nor would he allow his wife to work. Following the end of the war, the family earned some money from their confiscated assets and decided to leave for the United States.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> While in England, Ted Koppel was a pupil at Abbotsholme School, in Derbyshire. In 1953 when he was 13, the family immigrated to the United States,<ref name=Ehrlichman>John Ehrlichman. "Why We Stay Up for Ted Koppel." Parade Magazine, September 27, 1987, pp. P18, 20-21.</ref> where his mother, Alice, became a singer and pianist, and his father, Edwin, opened a tire factory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Koppel's boyhood hero was radio broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, whose factual reports during the bombing of London inspired him to become a journalist.<ref name="Moritz">Moritz, Charles. editor, Current Biography Yearbook, 1984, The H. W. Wilson Co., N.Y. (1984) pp. 216-220</ref> The bombing of London ended when Koppel was 16 months old.

After attending the McBurney School, a private preparatory institution in New York,<ref>Dan Nimmo and chevelle Newsome. Political Commentators in the United States in the 20th Century. Greenwood Press, 1997, p. 151.</ref> Koppel attended Syracuse University,<ref name="Huber Huper Diggins 1993 p. 48"/> graduating at age 20 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was a member of the Alpha Chi chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. One roommate recalled that Koppel "was incredibly focused and had a photographic memory. He remembers almost every conversation he ever had with anybody. And the man never needs sleep."<ref name=WashPost/>

Koppel then went to Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in mass-communications research and political science.<ref name="ABC News">Template:Cite web</ref> While at Stanford, he met his future wife, Grace Anne Dorney.<ref name=Ehrlichman/>

Career

Early career

File:Ted Koppel 1976.JPG

Koppel as the diplomatic correspondent for ABC News, 1976

Koppel had a brief stint as a teacher before being hired as a copyboy at The New York Times and as a writer at WMCA Radio in New York. In June 1963, he became the youngest correspondent ever hired by ABC Radio News, working on the daily Flair Reports program. His coverage of the Kennedy assassination in 1963 with Charles Osgood caused the national news audience to take notice.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> He was scheduled to do a short report, but a delay during the crisis forced him to ad-lib for an hour and a half.<ref name=Moritz/>

In 1964, he covered his first of many presidential nominating conventions. He also began covering the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama. ABC officials were impressed by Koppel's ability to clarify issues using plain language.<ref name=Moritz/> In 1966, he became the ABC News correspondent for the Vietnam War, moving from radio broadcasting to national television.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> He accepted the assignment only after the network agreed to send his wife and their two children to Hong Kong so they could be nearby.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> Before going he took a course to learn the Vietnamese language.<ref name=Ehrlichman/>

He returned in 1968 to cover the campaign of Richard Nixon, before becoming Hong Kong bureau chief, and U.S. State Department correspondent where Koppel formed a friendship with Henry Kissinger.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> According to Nixon advisor John Ehrlichman, Koppel's friendship with Kissinger was partly due to their similar backgrounds, having Jewish refugee parents and emigrating to America in their youth.<ref name=Ehrlichman/>

Koppel was among those traveling to China with U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1972. He spoke about it with the USC US-China Institute in their "Assignment: China" documentary series about American media coverage of China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Koppel likened the trip to a "journey to the dark side of the moon". By 1975, he was anchoring the ABC Evening News on Saturdays, and he continued to file reports for ABC Radio.<ref>"The Ted Koppel Collection". Syracuse University Library, Special Collections.</ref>

Koppel would often report on State Department foreign conferences, as when he traveled with Kissinger during his meetings in Egypt and Israel in 1975.<ref name=Ehrlichman/> He said about Kissinger: "I have a high regard for Henry. He has a first-class mind. A half hour with him gives me a better insight into a foreign policy question than hours with others."<ref name=Ehrlichman/>

In the mid-1970s, Koppel took a year off from his career, to stay home with his children so that his wife could complete her education at Georgetown Law School. Koppel's decision upset ABC News president Roone Arledge, who demoted Koppel from news anchor when he returned to the network.<ref name=WashPost>"The Real King of Late Night", The Washington Post, June 12, 1996</ref>

In April 1979, he was lead reporter for an eleven-segment series, "Second to None?", which focused on explaining the dangers of nuclear war. He did his own research and wanted to present "complex material to an audience that hasn't paid much attention in the past but must in the future ... if there is to be a future".<ref name=Moritz/> For the series he received an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award.<ref name=Moritz/>

Host of Nightline

In 1980, Koppel became known for his work as the host of a late-night news program called Nightline. The program originated as a series of special reports about the 444-day-long Iran hostage crisis, during which Iranian militants held 52 Americans captive, beginning in early November 1979. At first, the program was called The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage, and was hosted by Frank Reynolds. Koppel eventually joined Reynolds as co-anchor. In March 1980, the program evolved into Nightline, with Koppel as its host.<ref>"Ask the Globe". The Boston Globe, April 28, 1988, p. 52.</ref> Koppel spent twenty-five years anchoring the program, before leaving ABC and Nightline in late November 2005.<ref>Mark Jurkowitz. "Koppel to Leave Nightline and ABC News". The Boston Globe, April 1, 2005, p. D5.</ref>

While hosting Nightline, Koppel also hosted a series of special programs called Viewpoint, beginning in 1981, which provided media criticism and analysis. The show was envisioned by ABC News Vice President George Watson as a way to address any media bias that viewers might believe that they encountered on the network. Broadcast before a live audience, it provided viewers with a chance to question how stories were reported or critique television news.<ref>Judy Flander. "Ted Koppel to Moderate 'Viewpoint.'" Chicago Tribune, August 12, 1982, Section 4, p. 11.</ref> Viewpoint was broadcast sporadically, from 1981 until 1997.

Some liberal groups suggested that Koppel was a conduit for the government's point of view and accused him of favoring conservatives when selecting guests.<ref>"Koppel Looks Back on a Decade of Nightline". The Boston Globe, November 8, 1989, p. 80</ref> In the late 1980s, the progressive media criticism organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) claimed that policymakers and ex-officials dominated the Nightline guest list, with critics of foreign policy less visible. In 1987, Newsweek called him the "quintessential establishment journalist". Koppel responded that "We are governed by the president and his cabinet and their people. And they are the ones who are responsible for our foreign policy, and they are the ones I want to talk to".<ref name=SolomonN-FAIR-2801>Solomon, Norman. – "Ted Koppel: 'Natural Fit' at NPR News and Longtime Booster of Henry Kissinger". – Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). – January 16, 2006</ref>

In 1990, Koppel interviewed Nelson Mandela in a US-style town hall meeting.<ref>Nelson Mandela destroys Ted Koppel Part 1</ref> Also in 1990, ABC News ran a one-hour special called "The Best of Nightline with Ted Koppel".<ref>"The Best of Nightline with Ted Koppel", 1 hour</ref>

In 1997, Nate Thayer, a journalist writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review who later interviewed Pol Pot shortly before the latter's death, claimed that Koppel and ABC News made a verbal agreement with Thayer for the exclusive North American rights to use video from a show trial of Pol Pot that Thayer and Asiaworks Television videographer David McKaige witnessed on Nightline. Thayer claimed ABC purportedly violated that agreement by posting screenshot stills of video from the interview on ABCNews.com, violating the license as the site was accessible throughout the world, though not uploading the actual video.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Ted Koppel at the 62nd Annual Peabody Awards.jpg

Ted Koppel at the 62nd Annual Peabody Awards

On November 22, 2005, Koppel stepped down from Nightline after 25 years with the program and left ABC after 42 years with the network. His final Nightline broadcast did not feature clips highlighting memorable interviews and famous moments from his tenure as host, as is typical when an anchor retires. Instead, the show replayed an episode of Nightline with Koppel's 1995 interviews with retired Brandeis University sociology professor Morrie Schwartz, who was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

On March 24, 2020, Koppel made a guest appearance on Nightline to mark the program's 40th anniversary, discussing how he and his wife had been coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Post-ABC career

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Koppel in 2008

Following Nightline Koppel has taken on a number of roles which span various formats of news media:

• He signed up as an op-ed-contributing columnist, effective January 29, 2006, for The New York Times,<ref>"Koppel Takes Posts at The Times and NPR", The New York Times, January 13, 2006</ref>
• Following his departure from Nightline Koppel formed a three-year partnership with Discovery Communications as managing editor of the Discovery Channel. While at Discovery, Koppel produced several lengthy documentaries on a variety of subjects including a 2008 four-hour miniseries on China, which Koppel "ranks with some of the work that [he is] most proud of over the years".<ref name="reuters.com">Template:Cite web</ref> The four-part documentary, called The People's Republic of Capitalism, is an extensive look at the fast-changing country. It takes a look at the role of Chinese consumers in the growing yet communist economy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Koppel and Discovery Communications parted ways in November 2008, terminating their contract six months early, prompting rumors that Koppel would be hired for NBC's Meet the Press. Koppel stated that he was not interested in the job.<ref name="reuters.com"/>
• Starting in June 2006, he provided commentary to Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Day to Day on National Public Radio, joining NPR's other two Senior News Analysts, Cokie Roberts and Daniel Schorr.<ref>"Ted Koppel to Join NPR as Senior News Analyst", NPR, January 12, 2006</ref> As such, he participated in the annual NPR Fourth of July reading of the Declaration of Independence in 2007. Koppel ended his regular commentary on NPR in April 2008, and last appeared as a news analyst on the network in 2014.<ref name=NPR>Ted Koppel biography, NPR,

</ref>

• Koppel made occasional guest appearances on The Daily Show appearing in extreme close-up as a disembodied head, acting as Jon Stewart's journalistic conscience, sometimes as the replacement for the so-called "Giant Head of Brian Williams" projected on the screen behind Stewart. Koppel has jokingly insisted that "this is the actual size of [Koppel's] head"
• Koppel worked for BBC World News America as a "contributing analyst" covering the 2008 Republican National Convention and the 2008 Democratic National Convention<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and hosted a special edition of the program in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On December 12, 2011, Koppel made his first appearance on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams as a reporter. He would later become a special correspondent for NBC's Rock Center until the show's cancellation.
• On August 6, 2013, The Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by Koppel entitled "America's Chronic Overreaction to Terrorism".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 2015 Koppel published the book, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, about the potential of a major cyber-attack on America's power grid.<ref>"‘Lights Out,’ by Ted Koppel", The New York Times, Nov. 20, 2015</ref>
• Since March 2016 Koppel has served as a special contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honors and awards

• Eight Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Awards for broadcast journalism;<ref name=Inquirer/>
• Nine Overseas Press Club Awards for best television commentary on foreign news;<ref name=Jackson>"Ted Koppel gets his own program", The Jackson Sun, (Jackson, TN) July 4, 1975</ref><ref name=Inquirer/>
• Two George Polk Awards<ref name=Inquirer/>
• Two Sigma Delta Chi Awards<ref name=Inquirer/>
• Three George Foster Peabody Awards<ref>Ted Koppel biography Template:Webarchive, Museum of Broadcast Communications</ref>
• 1987: honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Duke University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2004: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2006: honorary Doctor of Laws degree, University of Southern California<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Koppel returns to Syracuse University regularly as a guest speaker. He was a member of the student-run WAER and keeps in touch with the student media at Syracuse.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Emmy Awards

• He has won 25 Emmy Awards, including:<ref name=Inquirer>"Rebuilding the Future", The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 25, 2000</ref>
• 1987 - Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story - Programs (Nightline)
• 1999 - Outstanding Investigative Journalism - Programs (Nightline)
• 1999 - Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story - Programs (Nightline)
• 2004 - Outstanding Feature Story in a News Magazine (Nightline)
• 2007 - Lifetime Achievement Award <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Koppel is married to Grace Anne (née Dorney). He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1963.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They have four children: Andrea (a former journalist), Deirdre, Andrew and Tara.

Andrew Koppel was found dead in an apartment in New York City on May 31, 2010, reportedly after a day-long drinking binge. A post mortem toxicology report identified illicit drugs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Koppel speaks German and French, in addition to his native English.<ref name="Huber Huper Diggins 1993 p. 48">Template:Cite book</ref>

A longtime friend of Koppel's was former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Both of them moved to the United States as children. Along with former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, Kissinger was the most frequent guest on Nightline.<ref name=SolomonN-FAIR-2801 /> In a 1989 interview, Koppel commented, "Henry Kissinger is, plain and simply, the best secretary of state we have had in 20, maybe 30 years – certainly one of the two or three great secretaries of state of our century," then added, "I’m proud to be a friend of Henry Kissinger. He is an extraordinary man. This country has lost a lot by not having him in a position of influence and authority".<ref>Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 1989.</ref>

In 1993, Koppel and his wife paid $2.7 million for Template:Convert overlooking the Potomac River in Potomac, Maryland.<ref name=MoskM-WP-2002-12-26>Mosk, Matthew. - "Koppel Tries to Cut Neighbors Down to Size". - Washington Post. - December 26, 2002. - Retrieved: 2008-07-10</ref> They sued to hold their neighbors to an agreement to limit the size of the houses in the neighborhood to Template:Convert.<ref name=MoskM-WP-2002-12-26 />

See also

• Koppel on Discovery: Iran, The most Dangerous Nation?

External links

• The Ted Koppel Collection at Syracuse University Libraries
• Biography from ABC (2004)
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