Thank You, Ted

Tonight is Ted Koppel's last appearance on "Nightline," the news magazine he helped to start nearly three decades ago.

In college, I rarely watched television, but I always wandered down to the dorm's TV room to watch Ted and to see if the Iranian hostages were ever going to be released. Eventually, "Nightline" became my intellectual option to late-night viewing. Sometimes I'm in the mood for it, and sometimes I prefer Letterman. But I know that Koppel (and the show) will always be interesting.

The show is not dead. Check TV Newser for constant updates on hosts, format, etc. But Ted is going away and I will miss him.

He was always smart, frequently aggressive, and viciously funny (off the air). Between Koppel and Peter Jennings, ABC cornered the market on great news guys.

You can hear his farewell interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air". Reuters has an interview and so does the New York Times. He's going out with a tribute to Morrie (as in "Tuesdays With...").

Without Ted, there's one less person on TV who talks to us like we have a brain. Damn.