Ted Koppel and Doreen Ketchens on CBS Sunday Morning, still via YouTube

Ted Koppel interviews Doreen Ketchens and Ben Jaffe about New Orleans music

Broadcast journalist Ted Koppel paid New Orleans a visit in December to interview Ben Jaffe and Doreen Ketchens for a CBS Sunday Morning segment about performing throughout the pandemic. Jaffe told the 81-year-old London-born journalist that Doreen’s corner in the French Quarter is the “Times Square” of the French Quarter. The 10-minute long segment  began with a performance from Branden Lewis and Charlie Gabriel of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Gabriel was recently signed to Sub Pop records and debuted his first solo album, titled 89, a reference to his age.

Gabriel told Koppel about his formative years and performed a jam session with Jaffe.  Ketchens sat down for an interview with Koppel in Congo Square. The clarinetist said Carnegie and Albert halls would be dream venues and Koppel declared she’ would “hit it out of the park.”

Ted Koppel spent 20 years as a broadcast journalist and news anchor for ABC. After becoming host of Nightline, he was regarded as one of the most outstanding interviewers on American television. Five years after its 1980 debut, Nightline had a daily audience of about 7.5 million viewers.

After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel, a news analyst for NPR and BBC World News America and a contributor to Rock Center with Brian Williams. His career as foreign correspondent earned Koppel numerous awards, including nine Overseas Press Club awards and 25 Emmy Awards. Recently, Koppel spoke out against the way in which opinion pieces versus unbiased reporting are dominating mass media.

Catch the full CBS Sunday Morning segment below.