Mitch Albom: Koppel leaves a rich legacy

Mitch didn't mention it, but Ted said that a comedy/entertainment program would replace Nightline if it lost viewership.

Think about it.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051127/FEATURES01/511270342/1082

MITCH ALBOM: Koppel leaves a rich legacy

BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

November 27, 2005

-snip-

When Koppel signed off the air last Tuesday night after 25 years of hosting "Nightline," he looked back at his interviews with Morrie, and I was honored to be a part of that show. But what struck me was the ending of the program, when Koppel, in typical humility, suggested his name would soon fade from public recognition, just as the names of TV news legends Eric Severeid or Chet Huntley had begun fading already.

I can't argue with his premise. The public has a short memory. But through the years, Koppel did something exceptional. He tried to teach instead of entertain. He broadcast from the Middle East, from the middle of a war, from town meetings across America. He got famous faces from the Dalai Lama to Tammy Faye Baker to face blunt questioning for more than a 20-second sound bite.

He took chances, whether reading the names of dead soldiers in Iraq, or giving a dying professor one last class.
And in doing so, Koppel, only one man, touched countless others. Who knows how many people were enlightened or motivated by the subjects "Nightline" covered?

I was.

-snip-

more...

...it was aired to update the US population on the latest events in the Iran Hostage Crisis.