New Nightline: “Good Night America”

ABC struck the right tone on the inaugural Nightline: It recognized the dramatic changes without getting hung up on them.

Cynthia McFadden opened and closed the broadcast, and she paused at the beginning:

“Tonight begins in a sense a new broadcast: Nightline without Ted Koppel. Ted’s four-decade career at ABC News, more than 25 of those years in Nightline, is an inspiration, and we pledge to do our best to build on this proud journalistic tradition with this program.”

And then it was on with the show. Terry Moran chimed in from Iraq: “I’m thrilled and honored also to be part of this new Nightline.” Fifteen minutes later, Martin Bashir added his sentence. “It’s a pleasure to join Cynthia and Terry here at Nightline,” he said.

And after referencing Good Morning America, McFadden closed with the perfect words: “Good night America.”