A memo from Discovery Communications today announces that Ted Koppel — yes, the one from Nightline — has been named managing editor of the Discovery Channel. And so, after 42 years of hard news at ABC, the man takes his hair and a slew of its former staffers not to HBO, as previously rumored, but to basic cable:

"The ten of us [from Nightline] are enormously excited to be at a place that wants nothing more than to produce the kind of television journalism that focuses on issues that matter to the largest number of people," Koppel said. "We look forward to creating quality programming that provides the in-depth information for which Discovery Channel is known."

Koppel then added that he was "totally stoked to work on a ridunculous segment about that face-eating tumor shit."

Koppel Named Discovery Channel Managing Editor [Romenesko]

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