11/23/04: Executive Producer Leroy Sievers (2004)

Nov. 23, 2004 — -- Many of Nightline's greatest moments over the past 14 years have born the thumbprint of my old friend Leroy Sievers, who is one of the finest men and best producers I've ever worked with.

Back in 1994 he led a Nightline Team to Rwanda to cover the story of the genocide there. He became a grim but eloquent eyewitness on Nightline itself.

KOPPEL: For more than four years now, Leroy has been the Executive Producer of Nightline. It's hard to describe to people outside the TV news business how all-consuming the job of executive producer can be. Simply put, the anchorman tends to get the credit when things go right and the executive producer is blamed when they don't.

In 2003 Leroy and I were embedded with the Third Infantry Division on the campaign from Kuwait to Baghdad.

Leroy, who is known to many thousands of you by the virtue of the Nightline E-mailthat he posts daily, will be leaving Nightline in a few days. He said his own goodbye to all of you in today's E-mail. He's a big guy: 6-4, claims to be down to 240. That doesn't begin to match the size of his talent or his heart.