Feb 16 (Reuters) – Anderson Cooper is leaving CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program after nearly two decades, in the latest staffing shake-up to hit the storied news magazine and network.
Cooper has been a “60 Minutes” correspondent through a deal between Paramount Skydance-owned CBS News and Warner Bros Discovery’s CNN since the 2006-2007 season, according to his page on the CBS News website.
“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,” Cooper said in a statement on Monday.
Cooper is the latest high-profile journalist to cut ties with CBS News since the arrival of Bari Weiss as the network’s new editor-in-chief in October following Paramount Skydance’s purchase of her outlet The Free Press.
Commenting on Cooper’s exit, CBS News said, “We’re grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family.”
Weiss unveiled her strategy in January, saying she would add 19 new contributors and focus on bringing a “streaming mentality” to the network, which has consistently trailed in ratings to rivals ABC and NBC.
She is trying to revive the third-placed broadcast news network, which has been losing viewers in the age of social media and online information.
Weiss had expressed interest in bringing Cooper to CBS News on a full-time basis, including the possibility of him anchoring the CBS Evening News program, according to a Puck news report.
Paramount Skydance did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Since the launch of CNN’s prime‑time television news program “Anderson Cooper 360,” Cooper has covered major global news events, ranging from U.S. presidential inaugurations and political conventions to the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting.
He joined CNN in 2001 and has reported on the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Cooper signed a new contract with CNN last year.
Lachlan Cartwright’s Breaker newsletter first reported Cooper’s departure from “60 Minutes.”
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)
