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 “remains 60 Minutes.”
“There’s very few things that have been around for as long as 60 Minutes has and [have been able to] maintain the quality that it has,” Cooper said. “Things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome, and things should evolve and change, but I hope the core of what 60 Minutes is always remains. I think the independence of 60 Minutes has been critical.”
“I think the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of 60 Minutes. When you see a 60 Minutes story, and you’re like, ‘That was a really good story,’ it was a good story because 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 during the 2006-2007 television season. He has juggled his correspondent role with his position as an anchor at CNN.
“The whole 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 challenging to do the kind of work you need to do to have a great 60 Minutes piece on. CNN doesn’t like it if I take a lot of time off 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’s been tough.”
Cooper first announced his exit from the CBS program in February.
“Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career. I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crews in the business,” he told Variety in a statement at the time.
“For nearly 20 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,” he added, referring to sons Wyatt, 6, and Sebastian, 4, whom he coparents with ex Benjamin Maisani.
Cooper remains with CNN, where he hosts the nightly program Anderson Cooper 360° and the network’s infamous New Year’s Eve coverage with Andy Cohen.
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