Anderson Cooper ended his run on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, paying tribute to the news magazine’s editorial independence and longevity. “I hope ’60 Minutes’ continues to be ’60 Minutes,'” he told viewers during a segment concluding his 20 years as a correspondent on the venerable program.
“There are very few things that have been around as long as 60 Minutes and maintained this level of quality,” Cooper said. “Things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s great, and things should evolve and change, but I want the core of ’60 Minutes’ to always remain,” he said. “I think the independence of ’60 Minutes’ was very important.”
He also said the program is supported by viewers as a trusted source of reporting and investigative reporting. Cooper joined the show for the 2006-07 season in an unusual agreement between CBS News and CNN, with Cooper serving as its lead anchor.
“I think trust with the audience is essential to the success of ’60 Minutes.’ When you see a story on ’60 Minutes’ and think, ‘That was a really good story.’ It was a good story because it takes time, patience and money,” he said. “I hope it is known, respected, valued and continued.”
Cooper is juggling his responsibilities at “60 Minutes” alongside his day job at CNN. Mr Cooper has expressed a desire to spend more time with his young children, ages 4 and 6. But there has been speculation that broader changes within CBS News under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and CBS’s ownership by Paramount Skydance may have influenced Cooper’s decision.
“While I worked on “60 Minutes,” my full-time job at CNN ended and continues,” Cooper said on “60 Minutes Overtime.” “It’s been really hard to put in the work that it takes to make a great 60 Minutes production. CNN doesn’t want me to spend a lot of time working on 60 Minutes productions, so I’ve been working exclusively on 60 Minutes on the weekends. I’ve spent my time off at CNN working on 60 Minutes productions. I loved it, but it was hard.”
Cooper added that he hopes the series continues for many years to come.
“My hope is that I can watch 60 Minutes with my kids when they grow up and have kids of their own,” he said.
