Anderson Cooper is officially off the clock.
The journalist signed off his final episode of the CBS news program 60 Minutes on Sunday, May 17, after nearly 20 years as a correspondent.
As he parted from the long-running series, Cooper, 58, expressed his hope that 60 Minutes “stays 60 Minutes.”
“There’s only a few things which have been around for so long as 60 Minutes has and [have been able to] maintain the standard that it has,” Cooper said. “Things can at all times evolve and alter, and I believe that’s awesome, and things should evolve and alter, but I hope the core of what 60 Minutes is at all times stays. I believe the independence of 60 Minutes has been critical.”
“I believe the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of 60 Minutes. Whenever you see a 60 Minutes story, and also you’re like, ‘That was a extremely good story,’ it was a superb story since it requires time, it requires patience, it requires money,” he added. “I hope that’s known and honored and valued and continues.”
Cooper joined 60 Minutes in the course of the 2006-2007 television season. He has juggled his correspondent role together with his position as an anchor at CNN.
“The entire time I’ve done pieces on 60 Minutes, my full-time job has been over at CNN, and still is,” he said. “It’s been really difficult to do the form of work you should do to have an ideal 60 Minutes piece on. CNN doesn’t prefer it if I take plenty of time without work to work on a 60 Minutes piece, so I’ve worked mostly for 60 Minutes on weekends. My vacation time at CNN has been working on 60 Minutes pieces. I’ve loved it, but it surely’s been tough.”
Cooper first announced his exit from the CBS program in February.
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“Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been certainly one of the nice honors of my profession. I got to inform amazing stories, and work with a few of one of the best producers, editors and camera crews within the business,” he told Variety in a press release on the time.
“For nearly 20 years, I’ve been in a position to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I actually have little kids now and I would like to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still need to spend time with me,” he added, referring to sons Wyatt, 6, and Sebastian, 4, whom he coparents with ex Benjamin Maisani.
Cooper stays with CNN, where he hosts the nightly program Anderson Cooper 360° and the network’s infamous Recent Yr’s Eve coverage with Andy Cohen.