In a major shift, ABC taps trio to replace Koppel on 'Nightline'

In a major changing of the guard at ABC News, the network announced yesterday that three journalists --including the reporter of the infamous 2003 ''Living With Michael Jackson" documentary that featured heavily in Jackson's recent child molestation trial -- will replace Ted Koppel as co-anchors of ''Nightline" next month.

Martin Bashir, who made his reputation in Great Britain as a reporter for the BBC and ITV before moving to ABC last year, will be joined at ''Nightline" by ABC White House correspondent Terry Moran and ''Primetime" reporter Cynthia McFadden. James Goldston, who produced the Jackson documentary, is the show's new executive producer.

Beginning Nov. 28, the program will feature a new multiple-topic format each night, instead of its historical in-depth focus on one subject. The show, which will continue to air at 11:35 p.m. weeknights, will be produced live from studios in New York City's Times Square as well as Washington, D.C.

Koppel, who has anchored the show since its inception in 1980, will depart ABC Nov. 22 after 42 years at the network. He wasn't available to comment yesterday, but an ABC News spokeswoman said the veteran journalist plans to produce long-form reports or documentaries in the future.

ABC's announcement comes three years after the network stirred up a brouhaha when it tried and failed to woo David Letterman's late-night show from CBS to replace ''Nightline." The move called into question the network's commitment to news.

Robert Zelnick, a former ABC News correspondent and chairman of the journalism department at Boston University, said Koppel's departure will leave a ''big void" at the network. ''News aficionados are not going to be happy about this," he said. ''Ted was such a unique talent in broadcasting."

Zelnick predicted the new ''Nightline" would be a watered-down imitation, partly because its ratings battle with entertainment shows require it to change. ''The program was running out of steam," he said. ''Obviously, it's going to be lighter and more animated. If a serious news program was able to command a committed audience, there wouldn't be drumbeats for a new format. I just hope it retains the kind of journalistic integrity and commitment that was evident for so many years."

Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, said the show's new multistory format will take away its big distinguishing feature. '' 'Nightline' was a show that not only did a single story well, but it started out every single night with the same story," he said, referring to the program's inception. Koppel's series of special reports covering the Iran hostage crisis eventually was spun into ''Nightline."

''If this doesn't work, we might see it disappear really quickly," Thompson said. ''With Koppel gone, it'll be easier for ABC to take it off the air without controversy."

Moran, ABC News' chief White House correspondent since 1999, is the anchor of ''World News Tonight Sunday." He is expected to give up those positions once he starts at ''Nightline."

McFadden, a co-anchor of ''Primetime," will continue in that role as well as co-anchor ''Nightline" from New York. Bashir, a correspondent for ''20/20" since last year, will continue in that role.

Goldston, who joined ABC News last year after producing Britain's most-watched current affairs program, ITV's ''Tonight With Trevor McDonald," will take over for Tom Bettag as executive producer when Bettag leaves at the end of the year.

In an interview yesterday, Goldston insisted that ''Nightline" will not become a soft-news magazine focused on fashion or celebrities but will retain its hard-nosed edge. '' 'Nightline' is a show with a rich and proud heritage," he said. ''It seems foolish to play with that."

The show will often be divided into three stories of about seven minutes each, Goldston said. ''We're going to do everything you'd expect," he said. ''International stories. Policy stories.

''Cynthia McFadden is off to India to do a show on AIDS. Her reports from there will be spread across a week. For big news stories, like Hurricane Katrina, we'll do different takes on the same story."

Goldston said he chose to broadcast part of the show from Times Square to add ''pizazz."

''My key aim," he said, ''is to put the event back into late news. It's all about energy and excitement. My view is that there's no place more exciting on earth than Times Square at 11:30 at night."

ABC has been supportive of the changes, Goldston added. ''ABC is making a very significant investment in the show's future," he said. ''We're adding at least eight staffers. Not many shows are doing that. Clearly, this isn't some kind of holding situation. This is a bold attempt to keep a hold of our audience and bring new people to the show."

Suzanne Ryan can be reached at sryan@globe.com.