Debbie Schlussel: Buh-Bye, Ted Koppel . . . And Good Riddance!
Tonight is a time for celebration. Why? Ted Koppel is leaving ABC News and "Nightline" forever.
Koppel (whose real name is Ed, not Ted) made his career off the backs of America's hostages in Iran, who spent well over 400 days in captivity. And Koppel's nightly broadcasts about them--which morphed into "Nightline"--didn't help their plight. No, Koppel's constant nights of attention to the Islamic hostage-takers in Iran helped Islamic terrorists, not just those under yesterday's Ayatollah Khomeini, but today's Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and Osama Bin Laden.
They knew--with the advent of constant attention to their evil acts, whether hostage taking or the murder of 3,000--that they would get nightly attention to their demands. And nightly attention to their demands is exactly what Koppel gave them. Nightly consideration of their point of view.
Consideration of the "other point of view"--no matter how evil, no matter how dedicated to America's defeat--became the hallmark of Koppel's career. In fact, with Koppel, it wasn't just consideration. It was sympathy for the "other" point of view, no matter how absurd.
Then there was his snideness, his arrogance, his smug leftism--all under the facade of "journalism." Conservative point of view or policy? Koppel always managed to deride it with his biased brand of snoot.
His snooty manner extended even to his phony, incorrect accent in mispronouncing Hebrew names and words, which didn't fool anyone who knows or speaks Hebrew. If only it were just the mispronunciation that was the problem. Koppel's unabashed pro-Palestinian terrorism slant in the disproportionate "Nightline" coverage of Israel was as obtrusive as a plus-sized model in a Victoria's Secret catalog.
Don't believe the hype over Ted Koppel in all of today's mainstream newspapers. He wasn't a great journalist or even a great interviewer. Ted Koppel was just a great ego.
When Peter Jennings died, this summer, I was critical of him while the rest of America gushed. The same criticism is equally appropriate to Koppel.
Ted Koppel is just Peter Jennings in a cheaper toupee. Unfortunately, while Koppel retires from Nightline, his equally biased, leftist daughter Andrea Koppel spews on as a "reporter" at CNN.
Good Riddance, Ted Koppel. One down; many, many more to go.
Posted by Debbie on November 22, 2005 10:53 AM to Debbie Schlussel