ABC News: Now and Then

In 1996, Ted Koppel (then the anchor of ABC's Nightline), walked out of the Republican Convention, rightly saying that it had become a staged and media-controlled event. In 2002, ABC made clear that Nightline would no longer be permitted to be a hard-hitting news show, and Koppel left, eventually moving to the BBC, PBS and NPR. While there are certainly many who would disagree with Koppel's positions and coverage of events, it's certainly fair to say that his career has been about reporting and understanding news.

ABC news used to reflect that kind of reporting, but no longer. Now, ABC has cozied all the way up the White House, to the point of 'hosting a health care town hall,' during prime time. Once the news leader, ABC is now the well-loved mistress of the White House.

One wonders what Ted would have to say.