ted koppel joined us and this is going to be, we hope, a signature part of the nbc schedule and justor people like you and me and all our friends and colleagues at nbc news to shine. >> one of the things that i noticed about this is that you brought along this sort of rock star cast of folks. what is it that you're hoping ted cokoppel will bring to the program? >> for "nightline," for folks in the tv business who know the name tom batag, he joins us as a segment producer and on and on and on and meredith vieira is coming back and so forth. so what they're going to bring is everything they bring. years of experience, gravitas, having been literally shot at before in the field, they're just going to make us better and give us another person to say to the audience when we come back, ted koppel will join us here on "rock center." >> the most important question i get though, today and this morning is who will tweet first? koppel or williams? >> boy, that's going to be a steel death cage playoff. you know, i haven't had that much interesting -- you know me. i don't have that much interesti

nation's top reporters have joined nbc and will be contributing each week, including kerry smith, ted koppel, kate snow, and many others. "rock center" begins tonight at 10:00. >>> we're closing in on a new milestone for planet earth today. >> say hello to some new friends. at some point today, we expect the earth's 7 billionth person to be born. it doesn't come with a lot of fanfare, instead a decline in natural resources. nearly 1 billion people go to bed hungry every night. they say the earth's water table and food sources are declining rapidly, raising the question how to provide enough for everyone. >> tonight at the dinner table there will be 219,000 people who were not there last night, and tomorrow night there will be another 219,000 people. >> while it's unclear when exactly the 7 billionth baby will be born, a number of countries around the world are honoring a number of $7 billionth babies as they are born today. >> bet the baby's already been born at this point. 4:42. time for weather and traffic. let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein in the stormcenter. what kind of hall

. >> reporter: veteran newsman ted koppel and harry smith are bringing their skills to "rock center" reporting talent. >> long-form story telling. it's -- they're not a lot of places that's celebrated anymore. this is exciting. >> reporter: smith's first story for "rock center" focuses on a north dakota town that has more jobs than people to fill them. >> there's opportunity here. >> reporter: opportunity is at the heart of corresponding kate snow's story on birth tourism, an industry focused on instant american citizenship. >> as soon as they secure a u.s. by the way certificate and passport, they fly home to ch a china. >> i hope what distinguishes us, it becomes television you feel like you are to watch. >> reporter: adding to that must see factor is williams' live presence on the broadcast each monday. >> that's the best way to be current, to guarantee that we're right where the news is. >> reporter: but it also mean an extra long day for the man who also anchors "nightly news". >> what else am i going to do with that time? sort my sock drawer? come on, really. >> reporter: willi

. >> this course on the to include at ted koppel as well as an array of numerous newsmen. but it gives us an opportunity to give people stories with greater depth and hopefully of greater consequence. >> he will also anchor each week's broadcast live to enable it to respond to breaking news. >> we really want to be alive for the next "fill in the blank." >> to make sure it will be a center of journalism for the next years, they went the extra mile for do pillows. >> we have a commitment. >> getting what from the the words as well as the challenge for "rockcenter." >> i bet you disguise it knows something is happening. this is our live view of the maryland is 2 in baltimore. he is relaxing and waiting for the snow to appear. we will talk about that in just a minute. let's see what is happening on the radar. it is trying to sprinkle. the storm is back in georgia and alabama. is not close it. there is moisture coming up. most of this is evaporates before it hits the ground. there might be a couple of sprinkles up there. you have not seen anything yet as they say. later tonigh

as i come in with my stories or kate or ted koppel or whomever, brian is going to debrief us. it's going to be totally unscripted. there's not going to be any please ask me this or whatever. he's going to look at the piece as it airs and is going to ask me whatever's on his mind. there's going to be several segments on the show where we'll let brian be brian. if you've ever seen him on letterman or jimmy fallon, you know how funny that is. it's going to be a very different kind of magazine show. >> i'm glad to hear that. absolutely. i was hoping we'd see the other side of brian williams. what about the other side of harry? i've done all that already. all those years on morning television. i get to put on my correspondent's hat. we've been at work on this show a couple of months already. i've traveled around the world. this first story is in willison, north dakota, which is one of those amazing places where any able bodied person can go to work and get a job. you can get a job in a day. >> can the rest of the country take a cue from this part of the country? >> well, the advant

when ted koppel accepted the edward r.rd he said this in seattle. >> it's no secret they have become hugely successful precisely because they are doing what i really didn't want "nightline" to do. >> koppel said his former broadcast has become a show that's heavily oriented into entertainment, more than in the direction of news. does he have a point? "nightline" still covers its share of serious news including the family in somalia, but the last couple weeks they've also covered "real housewives," "jersey shore," "pan am," the disappearance of a young mother, a millionaire's murder trial and the growing use of breast implants in venezuela. here's a sample. >> in some countries the open secret might be scandalous. but it's gotten so that implants in venezuela are to be flaunted, not just among beauty contestants but by working-class folks. why are people so obsessed with breasts here? >> because here we have these beautiful venezuela and all those girls are so flawless and they have big boobs, a perfect ass, perfect legs, t

not just for you but for a guy like ted koppel. what was about it this project?his show and i said don't get up from this lunch unless you offer me a job, because it just -- nobody is going to do this. there will be other magazine shows in the future and come from who knows what entities, but as a network to say we're going to make this commitment in primetime on a week night, it's a very big deal. >> it's very cool. >> a rare opportunity. >> and this story sounds fascinating. can you give us a teaser about some of the other stories that you're thinking about working on? >> all right, i have another question. >> no, sorry. >> do you want me to ask you another question? >> yeah, please. >> what do you think of the tv business overall having been in and out of it, especially looking at it from the outside without a job in it. >> i've never not been in it. >> oh, i see. well, i have. i had that whole year between cbs and nbc, so i got to look at i so you just went from cbs to nbc without ever missing -- >> yeah. >> that's nice. that's great that that happened. it's