AMHERST -- Comedians Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart earned a tip of the hat from legendary newsman Ted Koppel, who said their Comedy Central spoofs of traditional network and cable news shows offer solid coverage of important issues and events.

"They don't pretend to be journalists," said Koppel, who created ABC's long-running Nightline news program. But, he added: "They are doing a better job than the real journalists."

Koppel spoke with The Republican in advance of his appearance at the commencement ceremony at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where is he slated to receive his 25th honorary degree -- a testament to the respect he has earned during his more than half-century career. He will receive a doctor of humane letters, and will be the keynote speaker at the May 11 ceremony in which 5,000 are to receive degrees at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

At 72, he's still passionate about the work and believes that young journalists have even greater opportunities than he had when first began.

"I feel more passionate about it than I ever had," he said. "I've had a joyous and wonderful career."

Since retiring from Nightline, Koppel has worked as a special correspondent for the NBC News program Rock Center with Brian Williams. He is also a contributor to National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation and a contributing columnist for the New York Times and Washington Post.

He feels his longevity helps: "If old guys like me say 'This is important to pay attention to,' what are people going to do -- fire me (for covering it)?"



The cutbacks at newspapers and television stations and the shuttering of foreign bureaus, he said, are a detriment to the news. Before, news outlets would have 30 to 35 correspondents -- but he said, "Today four or five are covering the world. There's no way to helicopter in. [...] All we do is headline service rather than focusing on the event."

And while social media deserve an enormous amount of credit for their role in reporting during the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, he asked, "Where is the coverage now? What tends to happen the minute it is over? The coverage goes away."

Although media such as Twitter and Facebook can be an efficient for vehicle for delivering breaking news, he warned young journalists to avoid being "... swept up in the immediacy and the brevity of social media."

"Not much thought goes into tweets. (But) it delivers immediate gratification," he said, adding: "You shoot it out, you get a response in a heartbeat." But it may not qualify as journalism if the receiver is unable to judge the accuracy of the information, which may be delivered anonymously. "You don't know where the information is coming from," he said.

At its best, he said, journalism involves a "marriage" between a reporter and a great editor. "Simply pointing a live camera at an event is not journalism -- it's technology," he said.

The Internet has afforded anyone with an interest in the news to bring their own journalism to the world -- but, he said, "The problem is there's no one there to edit, to act as a brake."

He contrasted that world of instant gratification with his own path to success as a journalist: "I papered the walls of my first home with all the rejection letters."

The divisiveness in the media today, he said, is "terribly damaging." In its early days, television news was reasonably objective, and was an "electronic hearth" that brought people together. But with Fox News typically spinning right and MSNBC spinning left, he said, "It serves to drive people apart."

That divisiveness is then amped up on blogs and talk radio.

"It's not healthy," he said. "It makes it next to impossible for our congressmen and women to reach (across the aisle.)”

The commencement ceremony begins at 4 p.m.