Ted Koppel Joins NPR News

Kissinger was the smart guy behind the bombing strategy that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Kissinger was the smart guy who colluded with General Augusto Pinochet for the September 1973 coup and subsequent years of torture and murder in Chile. Kissinger was the smart guy who, in his continuing role as secretary of state after Gerald Ford became president, gave Washington’s blessing for Indonesian troops to invade and occupy East Timor—with mass-murderous results.  

Kissinger was a frequent guest on “Nightline,” so reverentially treated by Ted Koppel that in the summer of 1989 the host turned the moderating role over to the “extraordinary” man so he could direct the panel discussion. A few years later, in April 1992, Koppel was telling viewers: “If you want a clear foreign-policy vision, someone who will take you beyond the conventional wisdom of the moment, it’s hard to do any better than Henry Kissinger.”  

Koppel’s fervent promotion of Kissinger was no anomaly. The longtime ABC newsperson amassed a notable record of banging the drum for U.S. foreign policy when it counted the most, when a crisis was underway. Asked by Life magazine in 1988 if he’d like to be secretary of state, Koppel responded affirmatively and touted his qualifications: “Part of the job is to sell American foreign policy, not only to Congress, but to the American public. I know I could do that.” Koppel made the comment while U.S. foreign policy in Central America included Reagan administration support for a Contra terrorist army in Nicaragua along with backing for death-squad aligned governments in El Salvador and Guatemala. Meanwhile, his “Nightline” program regularly gave aid and comfort to policymakers in Washington.  

During the late 1980s, researchers at the media watch group FAIR conducted a 40-month study of “Nightline,” 865 programs in all. The two most frequent guests were Kissinger and another former secretary of state, Alexander Haig. On shows about international affairs, U.S. government policymakers and ex-officials dominated the “Nightline” guest list. U.S. critics of foreign policy were almost invisible.  

But Koppel, the program’s anchor and managing editor, didn’t see a problem. “We are governed by the president and his cabinet and their people,” he fired back. “And they are the ones who are responsible for our foreign policy and they are the ones I want to talk to.” Instead of wide-ranging public discourse, Koppel’s show was primarily a conveyor belt for elite opinion at crucial junctures. Later, if he got around to exposing official deception, he was apt to debunk propaganda that he helped to spread in the first place.  

In 1987 Newsweek noted a basic disparity between the image and function of Ted Koppel. “The anchor who makes viewers feel that he is challenging the powers that be on their behalf is in fact the quintessential establishment journalist.” In that light—considering the overall coverage of Washington’s foreign-policy establishment by NPR News—Ted Koppel does seem like a natural fit.