Disney versus Koppel

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

While not strictly a radio topic, this certainly does relate to 
broadcasting's (allegedl) commitment to the public interest.  I notice that 
ABC is seriously considering cancelling "Nightline" and replacing it with 
Letterman (whose contract with CBS is nearly up).  The reason given is that 
while Ted Koppel's long-running show still gets numbers, they are not 
"desirable" numbers-- that is, the audience is skewing older.  Now, given 
that 45+ adults have lots of disposible income and absolutely buy things, I 
fail to understand why ad agencies still maintain that only a younger 
audience is desirable.  But I digress.  My question is, if Disney is 
successful is getting rid of Nightline, despite its good numbers, does this 
also spell the death knell for network news on TV?  I mean, the excuse 
given for getting rid of Nightline is that the cable networks like CNN and 
Fox already provide plenty of news.  But for me, what is NOT provided is in 
depth commentary and examination of various under-reported news stories-- 
which Nightline does very well.  I always thought that networks, be they 
radio or TV, would want to be associated with a strong news division, 
because it keeps the audience informed, while other programming keeps them 
entertained. I realise that network news divisions are expensive to 
operate, but they have performed what I believe is an essential 
service.  However, in this era of conglomerates, it seems that public 
interest falls second to bottom line.   Are we now in fact finished with 
the concept of "public interest"?  I seldom see the FCC taking licenses 
away from owners based on their not serving the public interest....