Mark Steyn: Don't Count on Koppel for Whole War Story

The Chicago Sun-Times ^ | May 2, 2004 | Mark Steyn

[quidnunc]

According to Ted Koppel, dragging his gravitas like a ball and chain, ''The most important thing a journalist can do is remind people of the cost of war.''

So on Friday night on ABC he read out the names of the more than 530 American men and women to die in combat in Iraq. '''Nightline' will not include those who died by accident and other causes because of time constraints," reported the New York Times, deadpan, in an acknowledgment that even the cost of war must defer to the cost of airtime. ''Mr. Koppel,'' it continued, ''will barely have two seconds for each name.''

Is reminding people of the ''cost of war'' really the most important thing a journalist can do? Costs don't exist in a vacuum, but relative to their benefits. For example, the cost of Ted Koppel to ABC is said to be $6 million per year. That sounds a lot when you consider that Skip, the busboy at Denny's, would be happy to do it for $28,000, but cost alone doesn't factor in the benefits of Ted's distinctive portentousness.

Likewise, the cost of war is a tragedy for the families of the American, British and other coalition forces who've died in the last year. But we owe it to the dead, always, every day, to measure their sacrifice against the mission, its aims, its successes, its setbacks. And, if the cause is still just, then you honor the fallen by pressing on to victory — and then reading the roll call of the dead.

-snip-

[Political Junkie Too]

The best part:

If that doesn't quite have the sweeps-month ratings appeal ''Nightline'' is looking for, since Ted has now established himself as a $6 million list reader he might like to remind people of the comparative costs of war. At two seconds per name, to read out the combat deaths of the War of 1812 he'd have to persuade ABC to extend the show to an hour and a quarter. To read out the combat deaths of the Korean War, he'd need a 19-hour show. For World War II, he'd have to get ABC to let him read out names of the dead 24/7 for an entire week. If he wants to, I'd be happy to fly him to London so he can go on the BBC and read out the names of the 3,097,392 British combat deaths in World War I, which would take him the best part of three months, without taking bathroom breaks, or indeed pausing for breath.

As Stalin said, one death is a tragedy, 1 million is a statistic. The fact that America's dead in Iraq are not yet statistics, that they're still small enough in number to be individual tragedies Ted can milk for his show tells you the real cost of this war. In Afghanistan, the numbers are even lower, which is why ''Nightline'' hasn't bothered pulling this stunt with America's other war.

-PJ

[Thebaddog]

How does that fellow string words together in such an entertaining way and still make the point? I think we need more of Mark and less of Ted, but that's obvious, isn't it.

[don-o]

I love this man.

Thanks for the faithful day ahead posts, quid.

Here's where it's worth considering the cost of Ted Koppel in the broader sense. Our enemies have made a bet -- that the West in general and America in particular are soft and decadent and have no attention span; that the ''sleeping giant'' Admiral Yamamoto feared he'd wakened at Pearl Harbor can no longer be roused. If he could, he'd be a problem. But he's paunchy and effete and slumped in his Barcalounger, and he's defining decadence down: In Vietnam, it took 50,000 deaths to drive the giant away; maybe in Iraq, it will only take 500; and maybe in the next war the giant will give up after 50, or not bother at all.

[longtermmemmory]

As a TV show, Nightline has officially "jumped the shark". It decisivly no longer must see programming during a crisis as it was 20 years ago. Ted Koppel, irrelevant by his own hand.

[Political Junkie Too]

Maybe Ted Koppel should revive his original title: "America Held Hostage: Day 1,197."

-PJ

[proud American in Canada]

another great article.

Sadly, I detect a bit less optimism in this article than thre normally is. He is the one commentator who has always been able to make a brilliant, funny case that we're making progress in Iraq. But it's been a very hard week.

I look forward to hearing what he has to say about the prison humiliation disaster.

[LisaMalia]

Haven't watched Koppel for years. I'd rather watch a rerun of "My Mother the Car". Don't ever plan to watch him again. That's the best way to voice our disgust at this man.

[FairOpinion]

"The cost of war is the cost of losing it measured against the cost of winning it. "

This quote from the article sums it up. We will lose everything, if we allow the terrorists and Saddam's still active henchmen to drive us out of Iraq.

Just as our withdrawal from Somalia served as great encouragement to terrorists everywhere, they would consider this as a great victory against the US and MANY MANY more innocents would die.

Another perspective -- why didn't Koppell read the names of those who died in traffic accidents last year?

Highway Deaths Hit 13-Year High in 2003 (43,220 deaths)

The number of U.S. traffic deaths rose nearly 1 percent in 2003 and reached a 13-year high at 43,220, the government reported on Wednesday.

[woofie]

The cost of war? what does it take to advertise on Nightline?

[rellimpank]

----as sort of an aside to this subject, upon re-reading Stephen Ambrose's 1994 book on the Normandy invasion, I was reminded that the Roosevelt administration allowed no photographs of American casualties in WW2 until 1945---

[kittymyrib]

Have the Nielsen numbers come out on Ted's stunt last night? I haven't watched Howdy Doody in 10 years, so I have no idea what his regular ratings are.

[kabar]

It's unbecoming to a great power, and very perilous. The cost of war is the cost of losing it measured against the cost of winning it. We can reach our own conclusions about which the coalition's dead would opt for.

As usual, Steyn nails it. Koppel and his ilk are trying to make a war that involves our national survival into tragedy TV without placing the losses into the proper context. Shameful.

[McGavin999]

"I don't care about his medals or about Vietnam. But I care about him trapping this new war in the prism of an old war America lost. Koppel's ''Nightline,'' after all, is in direct descent from the old Life magazine pictorials intended to demoralize

I'm rather tired of these old, old men trying to recapture their youth at the price of our young men and women today.

It would be better for the country if Ted and John just decided to go out and buy a couple pairs of bell bottoms and lit up a joint together instead.

[pepsionice]

I suspect that ABC is letting Ted take this giant plankwalk...and at some point, they can fire him...and hire a new guy for $2 million a year. Let's face it...Ted is a waste of a reporter. He really doesn't have the force he had 20 years ago. They would be better with a bright 30 year-old performer. Let Ted fall like a anchor and dump him by July.

[Socratic]

"Ted Koppel, irrelevant by his own hand."

And Mr. K has inadvertantly set himself and ABC up to be exposed as frauds. For, as we know, there will sadly be more deaths of those who serve our Nation. What will K and ABC do then? By ignoring them, K and ABC will show that this was just a stunt. If they update this performance up to, but not after, the election they will expose their political motivations. Will ABC allow K to continue with his on-going political agenda at their expense? We must force ABC to continue with this charade to expose their hand!

[F-117A]

Thanks for the post bump!

[Paul Atreides]

Why is Koppel "paying tribute" to the dead soldiers? I thought that the whole no-American-flag-lapel-pin attitude, among the news profession, would exclude paying any sort of tribute. /sarcasm

[Arrowhead1952]

Mark Steyn: Don't Count on Koppel for the Whole War Story

[VRWC_minion]

Ted is very concerned about the cost of war, so I imagine he would not want to put himself in the place of profiting from it.

We should urge him to contribute the amount he gets paid for each show to the families of the names he used on his show. Its only fair and fitting.