Posted on 11/18/2004 11:46:24 AM PST by Cableguy
A longtime producer of ABC's "Nightline" is leaving the show, signaling a larger shake-up at the money-losing late-night newsmagazine.
Co-Executive Producer Leroy Sievers, who has been with "Nightline" since the early 1990s, is negotiating an exit package after Walt Disney Co.'s ABC indicated it would not renew his contract, according to people familiar with the situation.
Mr. Sievers, a hard-news guardian of the traditional identity of the show, has run it on a daily basis since Tom Bettag, the show's other executive producer, started devoting his time to ABC's Sunday morning program "This Week" about a year ago.
The departure of Mr. Sievers comes amid an uncertain future for the 25-year-old show, which has been on a deathwatch since 2002 when ABC almost dumped the newsmagazine in a bid for David Letterman's "Late Show." In a public-relations disaster, ABC was exposed as trying to woo Mr. Letterman privately to leave CBS and take the Nightline slot, and was widely portrayed as insensitively trampling a news icon in pursuit of commercial gain.
ABC retreated, but to some anxious "Nightline" employees, it looks like the network is trying to finish the job -- this time more quietly and gracefully. (The previous incident embarrassed Mr. Letterman, who didn't want to be seen as complicit in killing a much-beloved news show.)
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Too perfect pictures -LOL!
I never understood this - if your boss says you're fired, how do you have any standing to "negotiate" anything???
and that would be who?
The people who started watching Nightline 25 yyears ago were interested in news..and that was one of the few places to find it then. They're now, for the most aprt over 50, and can't stay up that late..the younger news junkies are on line, with a cable channel and/or talk radio on in the background..
TV talking heads are akin to politicians, they never know when to shut up and go away.
Ted Koppel is an anachronism.
Die, Legacy Media scum!!
"A longtime producer of ABC's "Nightline" is leaving the show, signaling a larger shake-up at the money-losing late-night newsmagazine."Since when liberals concern about losing money!!! This story is a hoax, folks...
Somewhat off topic, but I'm going on record right here and now that one of the "Big Three" Networks will drop it's news division altogether within the next five years. Sensing the growing irrelevancy, overall public hostility, and crashing ratings, they'll decide to pull the plug. Heck, I'd rather watch re-runs of "Small Wonder" than any of those lying snakes.
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
I worked in TV for ten years. I'll take a shot at this...
When this clown leaves ABC, his personal journals, if he was smart enough to keep one, are worth millions. Also, they don't want Fox to be able to promote their latest hire as 'the brains behind Nightline" (as unlikely as that might seem, it could happen).
Another consideration is that this guy could scuttle Nightline on his departure by poisoning the 'guest pool', either by taking his Rolodex to a competitor, or, equally likely, telling everyone he's ever dealt with to ignore Nightline and go to [insert media here].
Use your imagination along those lines and you'll get the jist of why ABC is playing nice...
My ex, Mr. Conservative-to-the-max, watched Nightline every night and had great respect for Koppel. That was 15 years ago. When did Koppel turn left?
I've noticed in the last week that ABC may be veering away from hard-left. Jennings actually did a quite fair-and-balanced segment on the Marine shooter in Fallujah. Local ABC news did too, and they're usually ranting raving extremists.
And Koppel ran a clip last night of Marines almost being killed picking up a dead terrorist whose body was a time bomb--and a segment with that Brit hostage Whitaker taken in Lebanon decades ago, who says today's hostage takers are much more vicious and criminal in nature. Is Koppel airing non-party-line points of view to fight for his job?
Wouldn't know..I haven't seen the show in probably 20 years..But changing the tenor of a program or two won't erase a decade or more of slanted broadcasts..and won't win back viewers..they'e found some place else to go for their news..
Sounds like a fine line to me...
The irony is that the nightly coverage of the Hostage Crisis with it's count of the days is to blame for Carter not being reelected.
These days, were the circumstances repeated, ABC would fall over themselves to help get a DemocRAT elected.
Koppel is another talking head that thinks the majority of the people who live in the red states are uneducated jerks. That is the topic of conversation among his circle of friends at their cocktail parties.
Take Andrea Koppel with you when you go!
Er... no difference.
The people that make up 'television' are, by and large, scumbags...
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