Each weekday evening, from 11:35 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. (ET), "Nightline" provides in-depth reporting on one or more of the major stories in the news through a combination of live interviews with newsmakers and background reports from "Nightline" reporters in the field.

In its 17th year on the air, "Nightline" is still considered one of the finest innovations in broadcast news. Said a commentary in The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1993, ". . . 'Nightline,' frequently a beacon of responsibility in a frequently irresponsible medium, proves that television can be an invaluable part of the American system." And from Vanity Fair, "For more than a decade, 'Nightline' has shaped the news and even history . . ."

"Nightline's" success is due in large part to the exemplary Ted Koppel, who has established a reputation among viewers, critics and his peers as a journalist par excellence. "Koppel's implicit moral authority helps explain why 'Nightline' has become such a key test for public figures . . . and others to defend themselves when fighting for their careers," wrote Vanity Fair. The New York Times said, "Mr. Koppel is like an unflappable commander whose very presence and unhurried cadences bring the troops to order, just the way he controls the personages who are honored by invitations to 'Nightline.'" Mr. Koppel has been cited by The Wall Street Journal as "the pre-eminent TV interviewer in America," while The Los Angeles Times refers to him as "the undisputed reigning lion of tough TV interview journalism."

Mr. Koppel has won every major broadcasting award, including 26 Emmy Awards, five George Foster Peabody Awards, eight duPont-Columbia Awards, nine Overseas Press Club Awards, two George Polk Awards, and two Sigma Delta Chi Awards, the highest honor bestowed for public service by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Mr. Koppel was honored with the first Goldsmith Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism by the Joan Shorenstein Barone Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. In 1997, he was awarded the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award from Quinnipiac College. In addition, he was the recipient of the prestigious Gabriel Personal Achievement Award from the National Catholic Association of Broadcasters and Communicators. In 1985, Mr. Koppel was honored with the first Gold Baton in the history of the duPont-Columbia Awards for "Nightline's" week-long series originating from South Africa. Mr. Koppel and "Nightline" were cited for "the most extraordinary television of the year."

Mr. Koppel was named the first recipient of the Sol Taishoff Award presented by Broadcasting Magazine. He was voted best interviewer on radio or TV by The Washington Journalism Review in 1987, and was named Broadcaster of the Year by the International Television and Radio Society. Mr. Koppel is an inductee of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

In 1994, Mr. Koppel was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Republic of France. He has received honorary degrees from Syracuse University, Colgate University, The University of South Carolina, American University, New England School of Law, Fairfield University, Middlebury College, Georgetown School of Law, Dartmouth College, Knox College, Howard University, Duke University, Saint Louis University, University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Johns Hopkins University and Catholic University.

Before his "Nightline" assignment, Mr. Koppel worked as an anchor, foreign and domestic correspondent and bureau chief for ABC News.

From 1971 to 1980, he was ABC News' Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, and for a two-year period beginning in 1975, he anchored "The ABC Saturday Night News." His diplomatic assignment included coverage of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a tour of duty that took Mr. Koppel more than a quarter of a million miles during the days of Kissinger's "shuttle diplomacy."

During the time he was on the State Department beat, Mr. Koppel co-wrote the best seller, "In the National Interest," with his friend and colleague, Marvin Kalb, formerly of CBS News.

Before being named Diplomatic Correspondent, Mr. Koppel was ABC News' Hong Kong Bureau Chief from 1969 to 1971. In this position, he traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to cover stories from Vietnam to Australia.

In 1968, he became Miami Bureau Chief for ABC News, where his assignments included covering Latin America.

On the political beat, he has had a major reporting role in every presidential nominating convention -- a total of 16 -- since 1964. He co-anchored ABC News' coverage of the 1980 Democratic and Republican National Conventions and ABC election night coverage.

Mr. Koppel joined ABC News, New York in 1963, as a full-time general assignment correspondent at the age of 23. Prior to joining ABC News he worked at WMCA Radio in New York City, where he was a desk assistant and an occasional off-air reporter.

A native of Lancashire, England, Mr. Koppel moved to the United States with his parents when he was 13 years old. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University and an M.A. in mass communications research and political science from Stanford.

He is married to the former Grace Anne Dorney of New York City. They reside in Potomac, Maryland, and have four children.

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