Could Ted Koppel Go To CNN?

Only on TVNewser: ABC’s Ted Koppel says he wants to continue making great TV (see below). He is “keeping his options open.” While Koppel never passes up a chance to bash cable news, could he find a home at CNN?

That’s what some observers have suggested today. On Thursday evening CNN chief Jon Klein told TVNewser that he wouldn’t pass up a chance to hire Koppel, but added that “there are no concrete conversations” going on about it.

“I’m sure he’ll have no lack of interest from serious news organizations,” Klein said.

I suggested that Koppel could appear in primetime or host documentaries like CNN Presents. “I think a giant like Ted Koppel could fill a whole range of roles,” Klein said.

In 2002, when Koppel was threatened by Letterman, then-prez Walter Issacson said he’d love to hire Ted. “CNN was talking to Ted Koppel when his last contract with ABC News was up for renewal,” a veteran cable newser e-mails. “At the time, CNN decided that Koppel was too expensive.”

But perhaps the high salary would no longer be a sticking point. Several ex-ABCers work at CNN, including Jeff Greenfield, Carol Lin, Anderson Cooper, and Aaron Brown. “I bet Klein does it to try to make his mark there,” the e-mailer suggests.

> Also: Koppel could develop a CNN investigative/newsmagazine unit “that could be broadcast across Anderson’s show, ‘NewsNight’ or maybe a weekend show” like CNN Presents, another e-mailer suggests. “It would add another respected name to CNN’s roster, but keep him from being a regular talent.”

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