Nightly news has died. Woe is Ted.

One of the last remaining respectable network news personalities has just jumped ship. Mr. Comb-Over himself (I wonder if Koppel and Donald Trump have ever been photographed next to each other?....this will be investigated...) will be with ABC's Nightline only 8 precious more months. A sad day. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that we still have Peter Jennings. And he's probably not far behind Ted.

Excerpted from the Washington Post today:

"Ted Koppel said today he is leaving ABC News, ending a 42-year career and a quarter-century run as host of "Nightline," because he does not want to do a live hour-long program, as the network is planning.

Koppel's planned departure accelerates a generational passing of superstar anchors in which NBC's Tom Brokaw, 64, and CBS's Dan Rather, 73, have also stepped down in the past four months. Koppel said he and Bettag are exploring other media ventures but that they would not be working with ABC."

I feel like all the trusting faces I have looked into the eyes of since I started watching television 22 years ago or so are fading into the haze. I feel anxious. I don't think networks even want to pursue the whole "anchor" concept like they have in the past. They just want someone yelling on camera and flashy banners flying across the screen. A rotating contingent of hopeful journalist/models/prognosticators/loudmouths/tiresome oafs will likely flavor our television news diets even more so in the near future than now.

Scary thought.