Anderson Cooper Leaves 60 Minutes for Family Time

anderson cooper I am making an enormous profession change.

Veteran journalist and CNN anchor leaves the corporate 60 minutes After almost 20 years on the long-running CBS present.

In an announcement launched Monday, Cooper defined that the principle cause for his departure was that the reporter needed to spend extra time together with his two youngsters, Wyatt, 5, and Sebastian, 4, with ex-partner Benjamin Maisani.

“Being a correspondent for 60 Minutes has been one of many nice honors of my profession. I’ve had the chance to inform nice tales and work with a few of the greatest producers, editors and digital camera crews within the trade,” Cooper mentioned in an announcement.

For almost 20 years, I have been capable of steadiness my work at CNN and CBS, however now that I’ve younger youngsters, I wish to spend as a lot time with them as doable whereas they nonetheless wish to spend time with me.

Cooper has been a correspondent for “60 Minutes” for the reason that 2006-2007 season underneath contract with CBS Information, a Paramount Skydance firm, and CNN, a Warner Bros. Discovery firm, in line with his web page on the CBS Information web site.

In response to Cooper’s announcement, CBS mentioned in its personal assertion that the door is at all times open if Cooper needs to return.

For greater than 20 years, Anderson Cooper has taken 60 Minutes viewers on journeys to far-flung locations, telling us unforgettable tales, reporting on the ensuing investigations, and interviewing many well-known individuals. We’re grateful to him for devoting a lot of his life to this broadcast and perceive the significance of spending extra time together with his household. If he desires to return, he’ll be right here for simply 60 minutes.

Cooper is the newest to depart CBS in what has been described as a “main shake-up” on the station, following the acquisition of The Free Press by Paramount Skydance and the appointment of Bari Weiss as new editor-in-chief in October. Cooper’s departure follows John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois, who left the Night Information on the finish of 2025, and 11 different staffers who had been acquired after Weiss joined.

Weiss introduced the community’s technique in January, saying he would add 19 new individuals and deal with bringing a “streaming spirit” to the community to compete with rivals ABC and NBC. Pac Information reported that she was additionally interested by bringing Cooper to CBS Information full-time, together with probably anchoring the CBS Night Information present, however the provide was apparently not engaging sufficient to maintain Cooper.

Cooper, who has been with CNN since 2001 and has lined the Iraq Struggle, Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, will stay with the community, and the anchor re-extended his contract with CNN final yr. He’ll proceed to anchor Anderson Cooper 360° and co-host CNN’s annual New Yr’s Eve particular. Andy Cohen.