Koppel Exits: Westin Asked Him To Resume Live Broadcasts Five Nights A Week

“Ted Koppel, of all people, knows what not to say in an interview,” the Newark Star-Ledger says.

In a recent phone interview with Matt Zoller Seitz, Koppel “was in a diplomatic mood. He refused to confirm or deny reports of a deal to produce nonfiction programs for HBO. He declined to assess the overall quality of TV news today, except to say he was intrigued by the rise of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. (“It’s a much more subjective way of covering the news. I’m not saying that’s good, I’m not saying that’s bad.”) And he never clarified why, exactly, he decided to leave “Nightline” and ABC once his contract expired this December, even after the question had been re-phrased four ways.”

But Tom Bettag told the paper that “ABC News president David Westin had asked Koppel to go back to doing five broadcasts a week…and to resume doing them live at 11:35 p.m.”

“After already having done it live, five nights a week, which is how Ted did it for the first 12 years, there comes a point where it’s really nice to have dinner with your family. So Ted said, ‘No, thank you,'” Bettag says…