cover image Nightline:: History in the Making and the Making of Television

Nightline:: History in the Making and the Making of Television

Ted Koppel. Crown Publishers, $25 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8129-2478-7

When the Iranians occupied the American embassy in Tehran in November 1979, ABC News went on the air every night with a program called America Held Hostage. For years ABC News chief Roone Arledge had been trying to carve a space in the 11:30 p.m. time slot opposite Johnny Carson; and the Iranian crisis allowed him a foothold. The show was a hit. In March 1980, it was renamed Nightline and Ted Koppel became the host. Over the years, the show has covered such diverse subjects as apartheid, the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and the fall of communism. Koppel, along with former Nightline producer Gibson, takes readers behind the scenes and shows the highlights (Dodger farm director Al Campanis awkwardly explaining why there are no black executives in baseball) and the lowlights (Koppel's badgering of vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro). Much of the book is dedicated to the technique of interviewing and discusses some who have sat in the hot seat, from former President Bush and televangelist Pat Robertson to Bill Clinton during the 1992 election campaign. Everything you ever wanted to know about Nightline is here, and it is a news junkie's delight. (June)