Anyone with an ounce of intelligence will see Koppel's bias. Ted was asking O'Neal why peasants would offer a different story and O'Neal answered him. Because they are living in a society with "handlers" standing over their back controlling the situation. Obviously, Ted screwed up.
Yeah right, Ted would have reported the story either way. "We're in the business of reporting what we have learned, not concealing it." We must wonder why Ted didn't concentrate on the other important issues. Ted's a liar. He stubbornly ignored the written record of the Boston Globe, of John Kerry himself, and of the other American veterans.