--- title: Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price' description: The former 'Nightline' anchor defends his friend canonical: https://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/ author: Emily Straus article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-22T22:57:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:01:24.400Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price' og:description: The former 'Nightline' anchor defends his friend og:url: https://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeb9f3cc785d84af/69886982f887dc1b46e92fce/ted-koppel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Former television journalist Ted Koppel poses for a photo in a Toronto hotel on Thursday, June 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Young, Canadian Press) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price' twitter:description: The former 'Nightline' anchor defends his friend twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeb9f3cc785d84af/69886982f887dc1b46e92fce/ted-koppel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent.  by [Emily Straus](https://time.com/author/emily-straus/)  ## Emily Straus Oct 22, 2015 10:57 PM UTC  Former television journalist Ted Koppel poses for a photo in Toronto on June 7, 2012. Former television journalist Ted Koppel poses for a photo in Toronto on June 7, 2012. Chris Young—AP  by [Emily Straus](https://time.com/author/emily-straus/)  ## Emily Straus Oct 22, 2015 10:57 PM UTC In the [latest issue of _TIME_](http://time.com/4082932/9-questions-with-ted-koppel/), former _Nightline_ anchor Ted Koppel spoke with Michael Scherer about his new book, [_Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath_](http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Cyberattack-Unprepared-Surviving/dp/1101888938/). He also discussed his career, and the state of news today, including the scandal around former _NBC Nightly News_ anchor Brian Williams. Williams was [temporarily suspended in February](http://time.com/3704299/brian-williams-suspended/) after questions arose about whether he fabricated stories during his tenure as a journalist; he returned to MSNBC in a diminished role in September. Koppel weighed in, stating: --- > “” --- [Read the rest of Koppel’s interview here.](http://time.com/4082932/9-questions-with-ted-koppel/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/"},"headline":"Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price'","datePublished":"2015-10-22T22:57:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:01:24.400Z","description":"The former Nightline anchor defends his friend","url":"https://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/","keywords":["Books","Media","Newsmaker Interview","Brian Williams"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeb9f3cc785d84af/69886982f887dc1b46e92fce/ted-koppel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Emily Straus","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/emily-straus/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeb9f3cc785d84af/69886982f887dc1b46e92fce/ted-koppel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former television journalist Ted Koppel poses for a photo in a Toronto hotel on Thursday, June 7, 2012. 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