FLASH: Ted Koppel To Be WP's 'Reliable Source'

Koppel will assume the position in mid-December when his contract at ABC’s Nightline ends. Current Reliable Source Rich Leiby will stay on through the end of summer, leaving co-host Anne Schroeder to solo for the fall until Koppel comes on. After that, the column’s format will be changed entirely.

Word is that WP Exec Editor Len Downie wants to take the orphaned gossip column in a new direction: It will cover less Washington society gossip and be used instead to do a daily “dinner table” interview with a prominent newsmaker–harkening back to the conversations held at Katherine Graham’s famed dinner parties.

“Len’s always been uncomfortable with ‘gossip’ per se, so he’s wanted to make the column more insightful and in-depth-when he heard that Koppel was looking for a new project, Len jumped at the chance to snap up to the best interviewer in journalism. For his part, after four decades in television, Koppel decided that the he wanted to try something different,” a masthead-level Post exec told us this morning.

Talks have been underway since early March, but details only firmed up on Tuesday. Post execs had been hoping to keep the deal quiet until next week, hence Koppel’s ambiguous remarks yesterday about his future plans.

Starting with the Nightline star, the Reliable Source column will feature highlights from a one-on-one four-course interview, conducted at a rotating cycle of D.C.’s finest restaurants. In a first for the WaPoCo and in a sign of how the company is building synergy with its acquisition of Slate.com, Koppel’s edited intimate dining room chats will be available as a podcast on Slate.com.

There are some early grumbles from Post execs that Koppel’s promised seven-figure salary is out of line for an ink-stained newsroom, but Bo Jones and the Graham family thought he was worth the splurge. (Take that Lloyd Grove!)

More important information on this surprising development after the jump.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

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Fishbowl D.C.