Ted Koppel To Honor Iraq War Dead On Friday's "Nightline"

[RBMaraman]

Ted Koppel will devote the entire half-hour of "Nightline" Friday to reading names and showing photographs of the more than 500 U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq, ABC announced Wednesday.

Each service member's photo will be shown, along with his or her name, military branch, rank and age as Koppel reads the name aloud. Since the ABC News broadcast is just 30 minutes, it will include only those killed in action in Iraq since March 19, 2003, as certified by the Defense Department.

The network will use photos and information from the Army Times Publishing Company's online "Faces of Valor" database.

"Memorial Day might have been the most logical occasion on which to do this program," Koppel said. "But we felt that the impact would actually be greater on a day when the entire nation is not focused on its war dead."

ABC News will simulcast the program live on its Jumbotron screen in Times Square, and ABC News Radio will air excerpts, the network said.

"Nightline" airs in most markets at 11:35 p.m. EDT.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/28/tv.nightline.ap/index.html

 

[wdlove]

I approve of the plan of Ted Kopell to honor our service men and women that have died in Iraq. It should only be to honor their brave patriotic service. If they use it to make any kind of political statement, then they should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

It should only be to honor their brave patriotic service. If they use it to make any kind of political statement, then they should be ashamed of themselves.

i agree... the first thing i thought of was paul wellstone's funeral debacle... i hope koppel conducts this with the reverance it deserves...

 

[Awimoway]

I rather doubt it's being done solely as a tribute. This is a hard news show. I think it's meant to be thought-provoking. People will draw their own conclusions, of course, and I don't believe Nightline is trying to force into one conclusion or another.

But it's a very interesting way to do the news.

 

[JeffTL]

i agree... the first thing i thought of was paul wellstone's funeral debacle... i hope koppel conducts this with the reverance it deserves...

I too hope that Mr. Koppel makes no attempt to disallow people to draw their own conclusions, however, I think that Senator Wellstone's funeral was probably the way he would have wanted it.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

I think that Senator Wellstone's funeral was probably the way he would have wanted it.

i've heard this said over and over again, and i also believe that he would have wanted his causes and beliefs to be advanced after his death... but turning his funeral in to a political rally from which to bash the current administration was tasteless and shameful. a funeral is not the right venue to advance any kind of political cause, it's to honor the deceased...

 

[Mr. Anderson]

We're not even out of Iraq yet - what about all the others who will die later this year.

I don't know if this is the best use of the show - anyone watching would soon get inundated with too many faces and it will all be a blur later. For those who lost a family member, it might have more personal meaning.

I think its a bit sensational and unnecessary. We're just getting around to putting a national WWII memorial on the Washington Mall - it opens tomorrow. The scope of the conflict in Iraq is a bit minor compared to WWII - but don't get me wrong, I'm not demeaning any soldier who's payed the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I just think its too early to start honoring the dead and work harder to solve the problem and prevent more deaths.

D

 

[strider42]

Ted Koppel will devote the entire half-hour of "Nightline" Friday to reading names and showing photographs of the more than 500 U.S. servicemen and women killed in action in Iraq, ABC announced Wednesday.

Each service member's photo will be shown, along with his or her name, military branch, rank and age as Koppel reads the name aloud. Since the ABC News broadcast is just 30 minutes, it will include only those killed in action in Iraq since March 19, 2003, as certified by the Defense Department.

The network will use photos and information from the Army Times Publishing Company's online "Faces of Valor" database.

"Memorial Day might have been the most logical occasion on which to do this program," Koppel said. "But we felt that the impact would actually be greater on a day when the entire nation is not focused on its war dead."

ABC News will simulcast the program live on its Jumbotron screen in Times Square, and ABC News Radio will air excerpts, the network said.

"Nightline" airs in most markets at 11:35 p.m. EDT.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/28/tv.nightline.ap/index.html

When I first read the headline to this post, I thought he was going to honor iraqis who are killed. Too bad that gets glossed over. I'm not saying we should go out of our way to honor those iraqi's killed in actual combat (thougn its not unusual for the military to honor those they fight), but those innocent iraqi's who have died because of this war, whether it be by shrapnel, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, accidents or being mistaken for being combatents. Far more iraqi's have been killed than US personel, and I'd wager that the number of innocents killed is very high in this and many other of our military efforts. If we supposedly freed them, then they are our allies, and deserve to be honored as well I think. And what about hose from other countries that have died fighting our war with us. I think we tend to focus way too much on our own forces and not those that fight with us.

 

[mactastic]

I think we tend to focus way too much on our own forces and not those that fight with us.

Yeah, this kind of sentiment is part of that problem...

I am member of team America not team Iraqi so yea I root for my own team.

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

We're not even out of Iraq yet - what about all the others who will die later this year.

I don't know if this is the best use of the show - anyone watching would soon get inundated with too many faces and it will all be a blur later. For those who lost a family member, it might have more personal meaning.

I think its a bit sensational and unnecessary. We're just getting around to putting a national WWII memorial on the Washington Mall - it opens tomorrow. The scope of the conflict in Iraq is a bit minor compared to WWII - but don't get me wrong, I'm not demeaning any soldier who's payed the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I just think its too early to start honoring the dead and work harder to solve the problem and prevent more deaths.

D

i agree 100%. many hundreds of soldier's will continue to pay the ultimate sacrifice for their country. regardless of my beliefs and feelings over the war, every soldier deserves to be rememberd, not just those who have served up to the date this show airs on.

i could go on forever about who else deserves to be included but i'm sure everyone here has similar ideas.

 

[parrothead]

The title of this thread should say, "Ted Koppel to honor americans killed in Iraq. The term Iraqi refers to people from Iraq. Just pointing out something that could be very confusing to some people.

 

[RBMaraman]

The title of this thread should say, "Ted Koppel to honor americans killed in Iraq. The term Iraqi refers to people from Iraq. Just pointing out something that could be very confusing to some people.

Yeah, I realised it right after I posted. I should have said "Ted Koppel To Honor American Troops Killed In Iraq."

Still, I think it's pretty obvious. Why would Ted Koppel and "Nightline" be honoring Iraqi's killed when "Nightline" isn't broadcast in Iraq? Before people jump all over me, I should say that I think the innocent Iraqi's killed during the war do need to be honored in some way. "Nightline" probably isn't the best venue for something like that.

 

[meta-ghost]

good thing america has a free press and information flows without any political restrictions whatsoever.

from http://www.dailykos.com/

" Sinclair communications corporate counsel decided to pull the Nightline broadcast from their 8 ABC affiliates. Sinclair Broadcasting owns 62 stations, and specializes in "Television Duopolies" - creating markets where all major affiliates are owned by two companies (Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS). They also contribute heavily to Bush -according open secrets the company or its directors have given over $200,000 to the RNC
and Republican Candidates, nothing to Democrats.

One affiliate, WTXL has stated it will run the show, as its contract does not allow for pre-emption, the other 7 have pulled the show.

Today on her radio broadcast, Arnie Arnesen mentioned it, and will do so on her TV show tonight: pointing out that a big deal was made over Tillman, so it can't be because of privacy issues."

Edit: (An ABC News spokeswoman said Sinclair's decision to preempt Friday's "Nightline" on its stations would remove the program in at least seven markets -- St. Louis, Missouri; Columbus, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; Springfield, Massachusetts and Asheville and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. )

can you say "battleground states?"

 

[meta-ghost]

for those who want to complain about Sinclair Broadcasting - their phone number is 410-568-1500

 

[mrbrown]

Stop imagining things - Sinclair is a private company and they can do what they want. Its this kind of stuff in the media that caused the public's negative reaction to Vietnam, which led to my father - a Marine who did no wrong while in combat - to be spit on and kicked by the 'peaceful Hippies' when he returned from Vietnam.

 

[Awimoway]

Stop imagining things - Sinclair is a private company and they can do what they want. Its this kind of stuff in the media that caused the public's negative reaction to Vietnam, which led to my father - a Marine who did no wrong while in combat - to be spit on and kicked by the 'peaceful Hippies' when he returned from Vietnam.

You're right. Recognizing each and every fallen soldier is the same as kicking them and spitting on them.

God forbid we should do anything to try to bring our soldiers home.

 

[rueyeet]

from http://www.dailykos.com/

"Sinclair communications corporate counsel decided to pull the Nightline broadcast from their 8 ABC affiliates. Sinclair Broadcasting owns 62 stations, and specializes in "Television Duopolies" - creating markets where all major affiliates are owned by two companies (Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS). They also contribute heavily to Bush -according open secrets the company or its directors have given over $200,000 to the RNC
and Republican Candidates, nothing to Democrats.

And yet the GOP continues to complain about the "liberal media." Complete and utter B.S., when you consider that something like 99% of media outlets in this country are owned by five companies, maybe seven at most. Yeah, I bet Hearst is a big Democrat.

I just think its too early to start honoring the dead and work harder to solve the problem and prevent more deaths.

Thing is, though, if the White House is allowed to keep glossing over both the financial and human costs of this war, that'll never happen.

 

[meta-ghost]

sen. john mccain weighs in with a letter to sinclair:
"Your decision to deny your viewers an opportunity to be reminded of war's terrible costs, in all their heartbreaking detail, is a gross disservice to the public, and to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces," McCain, a Vietnam veteran, wrote in a letter to David Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group. "It is, in short, sir, unpatriotic. I hope it meets with the public opprobrium it most certainly deserves."

 

[Sparky's]

And to view the response:

http://www.sbgi.net/

Dear Senator McCain:

I am writing to respond to your letter to me regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group's decision not to air this evening's episode of "Nightline."

Let me begin by saying that no organization more fully supports our military than Sinclair. In no way was our decision intended to show any disrespect to the brave members of our military, particularly those who have sacrificed their lives in service of our country. To the contrary, our decision was based on a desire to stop the misuse of their sacrifice to support an anti-war position with which most, if not all, of these soldiers would not have agreed.

I love this country

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

When I first read the headline to this post, I thought he was going to honor iraqis who are killed. Too bad that gets glossed over. I'm not saying we should go out of our way to honor those iraqi's killed in actual combat (thougn its not unusual for the military to honor those they fight), but those innocent iraqi's who have died because of this war, whether it be by shrapnel, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, accidents or being mistaken for being combatents. Far more iraqi's have been killed than US personel, and I'd wager that the number of innocents killed is very high in this and many other of our military efforts. If we supposedly freed them, then they are our allies, and deserve to be honored as well I think. And what about hose from other countries that have died fighting our war with us. I think we tend to focus way too much on our own forces and not those that fight with us.

You have a strong point. But it does put a human face on the daily reports of those killed. Unfortunately there would not be enough time in the day to list those wounded or maimed.

I may not agree with us being there, yet I feel that we should remember those that went to Iraq under orders from our government.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

And to view the response:

http://www.sbgi.net/



I love this country

Sinclair makes Fox look liberal.

 

[OutThere]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3675683.stm

Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group - a media company with links to the White House - barred its ABC-affiliated stations from airing the broadcast.

God I love censorship, it makes for such a well informed, global, community. When governments start repressing the horrors of war from their citizen's eyes, to further their personal goals, it degrades the world's view of that country for years to come. I am extremely angered at this complete lack of respect for the citizens of the us, and how the government has gotten to a point at which they think, and do, control, exploit and sit on the media. This needs to stop, now, and it should start with the other EU nations bringing their troops out of Iraq.

 

[kuyu]

Prime time, friday night, during sweeps, with commercial breaks. This thing has profits written all over it. They should have aired this on memorial day and commercial free. This wasn't political in nature, but a business decision.

TV stations set there advertising price based on sweeps week. The fact that this aired will mean that the network can charge more for airtime over the next year. Way to use the sacrifice our soldiers made to make money. Not a classy move.

The idea was nice, but the timing was all wrong.

 

[meta-ghost]

Prime time, friday night, during sweeps, with commercial breaks. This thing has profits written all over it. They should have aired this on memorial day and commercial free. This wasn't political in nature, but a business decision.

wrong. a tv show that consisted of nothing but photos and names would never be considered as something that would make money. the only reason this show even landed on the radar is because the attempted suppression was so much of an overt display of how the right wing are in firm control of both our political and media circles.

 

[mactastic]

Sinclair makes Fox look liberal.

You mean FAUX isn't liberal? I mean, we all know the media is run by liberals... right?