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Network television is in danger of losing one of its most exceptional broadcast programs. Last week, it was disclosed that ABC is attempting to replace “Nightline,” its highly celebrated in-depth news program hosted by Ted Koppel, with David Letterman’s “The Late Show.” The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, has tried to justify this move by saying that Letterman would lure a younger audience to the 11:35 p.m. timeslot, increasing advertising revenue for a slumping network...
This explanation is perfectly justified—in a recession, Disney is attempting to make a move that they believe will help improve ABC’s overall financial picture. More upsetting, however, was the comment to the New York Times of one anonymous ABC executive who described the format and content of “Nightline” as no longer relevant. “Nightline” is just the opposite. It remains more important and timely than ever, and its elimination from ABC would be a great loss for both the news world and for television viewers...
...ABC and Disney are entertainment companies, and their attempts to attract younger viewers are understandable. Despite this, “Nightline” still deserves a prominent spot on the airwaves. Networks have a commitment to their viewers to provide comprehensive, informative news coverage. Quality broadcasting like “Nightline” should not be sacrificed simply to make room for entertainment programming; if ABC does secure Letterman, “Nightline” should be moved to a timeslot in primetime, even if on a more limited basis...
...symbiotic solution: send reality TV to war. Last week ABC announced Profiles from the Front Line, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down) and reality-TV wiz Bertram van Munster (Cops, The Amazing Race). The reality series, to air as soon as this summer, intends to tell the personal stories of soldiers in Afghanistan, the Philippines and beyond. On VH1's tentatively-titled Military Diaries (also aimed for summer), more than 60 soldiers with cameras will record their days and talk about how music helps them cope. (As Apocalypse Now taught us, rockin' tunes are integral to modern...
DIED. HOWARD K. SMITH, 87, impassioned, combative news broadcaster for CBS and ABC; in Bethesda, Md. Smith, who in 1960 moderated the first-ever televised presidential debate (between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon), believed that journalists should take stands on some issues. He left CBS when CEO William Paley barred him from punctuating a 1961 documentary on racism in Birmingham, Ala., with the Edmund Burke quote "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing...