--- description: The former 'Nightline' anchor defends his friend title: Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteeb9f3cc785d84af/69886982f887dc1b46e92fce/ted-koppel.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price'  by [Emily Straus](/author/emily-straus/)  ## Emily Straus Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 22, 2015 10:57 PM CUT  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](/author/emily-straus/)  ## Emily Straus Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 22, 2015 10:57 PM CUT In the [latest issue of _TIME_](http://time.com/4082932/9-questions-with-ted-koppel/ "undefined"), 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/ "undefined"). 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/ "undefined") 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/ "undefined") ```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. (AP Photo/Chris Young, Canadian Press)","caption":"Former television journalist Ted Koppel poses for a photo in a Toronto hotel on Thursday, June 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Young, Canadian Press)","creditText":"Chris Young—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4084187/ted-koppel-brian-williams/","name":"Ted Koppel: Brian Williams 'Has More Than Paid the Price'"}}]}] ```