Fox News anchor criticizes Koppel's tribute to troops



LOS ANGELES TIMES
NEW YORK -- "Fox News Sunday" is jumping into the debate over ABC News' "Nightline" roll-call tribute to U.S. troops who have died in Iraq, which aired last Friday.
Anchor Chris Wallace, who joined Fox from ABC News last year, said he was "offended" by the reading of the more than 700 names by "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel, without putting them into the greater context of what has happened in Iraq.
"I take Ted at his word that he did not intend the show to be a ratings stunt or to make a political statement, but it seems to me that it worked out that way," Wallace said this week. Seven ABC affiliates owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and three owned by Piedmont Television refused to air the "Nightline" broadcast because they thought it was an anti-war statement.
Wallace said his show will fill in the gaps this weekend with its own list, to run about five minutes, titled "What We've Accomplished." The program airs Sunday mornings.
"We're in no way trying to say that there aren't questions about the war, the way we went into the war and the way we've conducted the occupation," Wallace said. "But there are some success stories, and if you want to pay tribute to [U.S. troops'] deaths, then let's talk about what they died for."