ABC News announced Monday it will replace departing Nightline host Ted Koppel with an eclectic trio: Terry Moran, ABC’s chief White House correspondent since 1999; Primetime co-host Cynthia McFadden; and BBC journalist Martin Bashir, whose documentary on Michael Jackson led to the singer’s molestation trial.
The new Nightline format will premiere Nov. 28. As for a change in format, Nightline will now cover three or four topics as opposed to a single one on most of its broadcasts.
Nightline spokeswoman Emily Lenzner announced the show’s “main set” would be moved from Washington to ABC’s Times Square studio in New York City–where both Bashir and McFadden are based.
Bashir, a regular on the network’s 20/20 since last year, came into the American public eye in 2003 with his much publicized documentary on the King of Pop. In it, Jackson admitted to Bashir he shared his bedroom with youngsters, which contributed to child molestation charges against Jackson. Jackson, 47, was later acquitted on all charges.
Moran anchors the Sunday night broadcast of ABC World News Tonight, and McFadden has co-anchored Primetime since last year. Bashir and McFadden will also keep their current posts on their respective ABC shows.
Koppel, 65, will make his last appearance on the show Nov. 22, having been with the network for 42 years. Nightline grew from a series of late-night news specials covering the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. They were first reported by Frank Reynolds, then by Koppel, who stayed on to host Nightline when it debuted March 24, 1980.
