The ABC's of Ted Koppel's 'Nightline'

Delivering an address in person will be something of a new experience for today's Class Day Speaker. Ted Koppel, anchor of ABC's "Nightline." Five nights a week, Koppel communicates with several million viewers through television.

"Ted talks to monitors, not people," says Tom Shales, the television critic for the Washington Post Koppel likes "Nightline"'s style, which places him in Washington or New York, while his far-flung guests appear on large video screens before him. "I'm insulated," Koppel says. "I'm a queen bee connected electronically to everyone else."

Koppel says that the format and subjects discussed on "Nightline" are appropriate for television because. "Television is the bazaar in which we do our shopping." "It's the place that causes us to make up our mind on everything from jockey shorts to president," he adds.

And while "Nightline" has yet to devote a half-hour to undergarments, it has addressed everything from the Iran-Iraq war to the beauty of Mt Everest, from the possibility of a nuclear apocalypse to Cabbage Patch dolls. "Can you name a subject 'Nightline' hasn't discussed?" Koppel asks.

But Koppel denies that the program is meant to be educational. "I assume our viewers are intelligent." Koppel says. "But like Mark Twain said. All people are ignorant about some things.' But to admit that 'Nightline' is an 'educational program' would be to sound its death knell. Television generally does a pretty lousy job with information and--God forbid--education."

But many journalists and occasional guests on "Nightline" believe that the show provides an exception to the familiar lament that television news too superficial. They believe that "Nightline" at once both "entertains and educates," says Donald say, the Chief Judge of the 8th Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, who recently appeared with Koppel on "Viewpoint," a semi-regular "Nightline" variation that examines the press.

And these observers credit Koppel with the low's success. As they discuss Koppel's influence on "Nightline, they also address "Nightline's" influence on Koppel. Shales perceives a lebrity-like ego. But others point to Koppel's selflessness which, four years ago, led him to transfer his resignation to ABC News so that he could stay at home while his wife returned to school. These observers praise the program, even as they question some of its techniques and weaknesses. Mike Royko, a columnist for the Chicago tribune who has been a guest on "Nightline," says that he felt "a little uncomfortable" with the electronic connections.

And Shales says that when he first watched "Nightline" four years ago, he thought its em-basis on television monitors "was ludicrous." Koppel says that "Nightline's" style has produced new unwanted "clones of hundreds of people longs live interviews with TV screens, whether son 'Live at Five' or 'More at Four'."

But Bill Lord, the former executive producer of "Nightline" and now the executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight," thinks "Nightline's" style is central to its success. "Ted doesn't want to be taken in by the guest's personality. He wants to approach it as the audience does," he says. "He wants all guests to establish their criminals with the public."

Shales too, now thinks that "Nightline"'s style makes perfect television sense. It's easier to fit in on little boxes. All we need to see is their faces," he says. The style, he continues, enhances the show's strength and its efforts "to shed a lot of light on a variety of issues."

"It was a brilliant coup to create the show," says William Small, the former president of NBC News and former vice president of CBS News who now heads United Press International.

Royko, who occasionally takes a swipe at television news in his column, says that "Nightline" is "informative." A frequent guest on the show. Alan M. Dershowitz, professor of law, agrees that live television is the best medium for "Nightline." "There's a dynamism about bringing controversy to TV," he says.

Without exception, all questioned credit Koppel with the show's success. "Ted Koppel is 'Nightline,'" says Don Hewitt, the executive producer of "60 Minutes" on CBS. "He's a very good interviewer." Dershowitz adds that Koppel "is like a good cross-examiner. He's the best interviewer I've had." Small says that Koppel always asks "tough questions with the kind of alacrity that's not afraid to risk affecting the interview in a bad way."

"I'm not sure if there'd be a show without Ted." Shales says. "He's as important to 'Nightline' as Carroll O'Connor was to 'All in the Family,' and the similarities don't end there." Shales refers not to Archie Bunker's bigotry but rather to O'Connor's ego, which, he says, became legendary in television circles. "Ted has an enormous ego It's impossible not to at that level."

"He has a Napoleon complex," Shales says "Ted's short, and he's conscious of exerting a grandeur. On 'Nightline,' he's the monarch of all he surveys But," Shales adds, "I think he keeps it under control."

Shales mentions as an example of this attitude an item which appeared in the Washington Post last month and that described Koppel's new indoor pool Complete with the "Nightline" logo in fiber-optic lights, the item said, the black pool was visible from most ground floor rooms.

"Koppel himself will tell you he takes himself very seriously." Hewitt says. "But I would hope he did the pool as a joke. If it's true. I hope he's laughing at himself."

While Koppel says "you have to ignore stories like that," he nonetheless takes a moment to explain. "There is no 'Nightline' logo on my pool," he says. "There is a white tile outline of a city scope and some fiber optics that give it a starlight effect. It was the contractor's idea and was meant as a whimsical touch for the family."

When he talks about his family and the power of television in general, and "Nightline" in particular, Koppel sounds like a confident, contented man with an uninflated ego. Small says Koppel has "a marvelous self-deprecating sense of humor," and Koppel admits his mistakes: "of course I've said stupid things on the air." Lord adds that Koppel "cares about his staff."

Koppel says that he also cares about his family and his privacy. He will not speak in any detail about his four children, whom he hopes to keep out of the public eye. And he notes with pride that his wife took and passed the bar exam on her first attempt and now practices law.

In 1976, when Grace Anne Koppel wanted to return to school. Koppel offered his resignation to ABC so that he could stay at home. While he and ABC eventually arrived at an alternative plan--he remained on half-pay and broadcast radio commentaries from home--Koppel nonetheless accepted reduced exposure. "I don't know anyone who would have done that," Small says.

Koppel explains his reasoning simply: "At one point in our lives, my wife, who was a Ph.D candidate at Stanford, gave up her career so that I could be a foreign correspondent. So when she wanted to go to law school. I took time off." He worried little about his own career, he says. "I had time to lose. I started early enough."

In fact, the 44-year-old old Koppel started roughly 36 years ago. "I knew I wanted to be a broadcast journalist when I was eight or nine," he says. "In my most formative years. I listened to the likes of Edward R. Murrow." The British-born Koppel came to the U.S. in 1953, spent his undergraduate years at Syracuse University and received a Masters in journalism from Stanford. In 1963, he joined ABC and reported from Vietnam--he learned Vietnamese before he left--and then headed the network's Hong Kong bureau. In 1977, he became the anchor of the ABC "Saturday Night Evening News."

While someone like Walter Cronkite has said that his prominence often prevented him from leaving the anchor booth to report stories from the field. Koppel says that he doesn't worry about the effects of his increased exposure and celebrated status. U.S. News and World Report, for instance recently named him one of the nation's 30 most influential individuals.

"If you don't play that [celebrity] role the way you carry yourself people will bother you to a minimum," he says. "And God has given me all the attributes to go by unnoticed."

But Koppel isn't afraid to be noticed during a debate on "Nightline." Dershowitz says. "I've seen Koppel say to two guests. 'You two agree,' when they're trying to create unnecessary controversy. He's very fair. He's been very tough on [the Rev. Jesse L] Jackson, for example, and very tough on those who oppose Jackson. Koppel has created his own non political constituency," he adds.

Koppel won't discuss his own political leanings, but does offer an analysis of President Reagan's success. "Reagan has a simple way of articulating simple thoughts," he says. "And TV is a simple medium, that lends itself to simple things. Reagan hardly if ever gets too complicated."

To collect fodder for his programs. Koppel says that he reads five to six newspapers a day, employs two research assistants and helps his producers plan each show. Even so, problems occur. Lord, the former executive producer, recalls a show that examined the abortion issue. "I cued him that we had thirty seconds left and Ted said to his guest. 'Well, we're going to have to abort this interview.'"

Others say that on occasion "Nightline" has an additional problem as well. "Sometimes they touch too many bases," Royko says. "They shouldn't beat a dull story to death." And Dershowitz adds, "there's not a major event every day that warrants coverage on 'Nightline'."

"It's the nature of journalism to focus on the immediate, and the immediate isn't always important," Koppel says. He also admits that a few shows have been less than intellectually stimulating. "We did one from the base of Mt. Everest Technologically, it was miraculous. But there wasn't a whole lot to say, especially after we lost touch with the climbing team." "The program was kind of nothing," he continues. "Every once in a while the shows are, quite frankly, boring We did a totally sweet and forgettable show on the Cabbage Patch dolls."

But Koppel also sounds proud of many "Nightline" segments. he counts among his favorites one broadcast from Harvard on nuclear strategy--"the interplay was very good"--and a recent show that paired the Iranian and Iraqui ambassadors. "There's something ironically bizarre about that," Koppel says. "The last time they talked was on Nightline. That's wonderful TV, even instructive."

"People want to be on the broadcast," Lord says. And Lord describes the force "Nightline" can exert. He recalls that during the Hostage crisis, the program invited the Iranian charged affaires and Dorthea Morefield, a hostage's wife, to appear together. "In a live interview, she pressed the charge about why mail wasn't delivered to the hostages. We learned later that within one week after that show the mail was delivered through the process of confrontation."

But Koppel says that he doesn't "accept television diplomacy. it implies that TV has the capacity to bring together people who might not otherwise communicate. Television is of course powerful," he continues. "Access is power, and many people gain most of their information from television." Koppel also believes that television news programs have their limits.

"When you're dealing with a TV program, you cannot hope to duplicate reality. To suggest that television has even the capability of supplanting news magazines and books is ludicrous. Television like 'Nightline' can get people interested in subjects they might not otherwise sample."

And Koppel thinks that, along those lines, "Nightline" succeeds. He notes that Harvard is "taking the whole 20 hours of the crisis game [a portion of which aired as a special 'Nightline' that examined possible action during a nuclear crisis] for educational purposes."

Koppel says he's content on "Nightline," and in fact, that he discouraged talk of his replacing the late Frank Reynolds as anchor of "World News Tonight." "I don't think Ted believes that 7 p.m. would be particularly advantageous to him." Shales says, because it would not allow Koppel's interviewing skills to shine.

"Koppel gives ABC class and respect," Shales adds. "He's the fair-haired boy there--if an aging and soon-to-be-gray haired boy, too."

Even though Koppel doesn't call "Nightline" an "educational program," he says he's pleased that others disagree. "He and 'Nightline' make me think," Dershowitz concludes. "And that's not an easy thing to do at 11:30 at night."