Anderson Cooper, one of the most recognizable figures in television, is leaving “60 Minutes” after two decades as a correspondent at CBS News’s weekly documentary program.
Cooper, 58, joined the program in 2006 through an agreement with CNN, where he’s been worked since 2001 and hosted the eponymous “Anderson Cooper 360°” since 2003. Through a CNN spokesperson, Cooper said he decided not to renew his CBS contract and that he planned to spend more time with his young children.
“Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career,” Cooper wrote in a statement. “I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors, and camera crews in the business. For nearly twenty years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me.”
The decision was first reported Monday by the media newsletter Breaker. CBS News did not respond to a request for comment.
Cooper’s ascent was part of a “generational transition,” the New York Times wrote in 2006. Katie Couric joined the program at the same time, just as CBS legends Dan Rather and Mike Wallace departed.
Now, his exit comes amid a new evolution at CBS News.
Under new editor in chief Bari Weiss, the company has undergone layoffs and internal tension as the anti-woke editor seeks to make a mark on the network. “Our strategy until now has been clinging to the audience that remains on broadcast television, and I’m here to tell you that if we stick to that strategy, we are toast,” she recently told CBS News staff.
In December, Weiss made a controversial decision to postpone a “60 Minutes” segment about the Trump administration deporting Venezuelan migrants to the CECOT prison in El Salvador. Although she said she wanted an on-air interview with an administration official, the piece eventually ran without one — including instead a lengthy addendum and comments from the administration.
Last year, David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, led Skydance Media in acquiring Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS. That deal was approved after a lengthy regulatory back-and-forth with the Trump administration and a legal settlement with President Donald Trump who had sued the network over a “60 Minutes” interview with his political rival Kamala Harris.
Cooper, the son of Gloria Vanderbilt and Wyatt Emory Cooper, started his career as a correspondent for the school television network Channel One News before moving to ABC News. During that time he also hosted the first two seasons of ABC’s reality show “The Mole.” He moved to CNN in 2001 as a weekend anchor before getting his own show in 2003.
Cooper’s recent “60 Minutes” coverage has examined the rise of prediction marketplace Polymarket, taken viewers into the bedrooms of school shooting victims, and profiled the artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
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