By Sarah Puorro
On January 5, 1981, the late-night news program Nightline with Ted Koppel extended from a 20 minute program to a 30 minute program. The program had just recently changed from a special report that updated Americans on The Iran Crisis to Nightline. By this time, the ABC program had become very popular. The host, Ted Koppel (anchoring from 1980 to 2005), became a national figure. Nightline still aires today, for 30 minutes, discussing the world and updating viewers on current events.