Anderson Cooper said Monday that he is exiting CBS’s “60 Minutes,” though he will continue working with CNN, in a move he tied to spending more time with his family. Cooper, who has been a correspondent for the CBS broadcast for nearly two decades, also said the timing reflects a change in his personal circumstances, including the fact that he has “little kids now.”
In a statement, Cooper said he considers his “60 Minutes” work among the “great honors” of his career and described the job as something he could balance while also hosting a weekday news program on CNN. He said that, for nearly 20 years, he was able to juggle the “60 Minutes” role and CNN while still maintaining enough time for his family, but that he now wants to be with his children as much as possible.
Cooper’s exit, CBS and others said, is not expected to be immediate. The report said he appeared on the Sunday night broadcast, introducing a brief segment connected to filmmaker Ken Burns, and that he is expected to finish the current “60 Minutes” season, which ends in May.
CBS News issued its own statement praising Cooper’s work and expressing an openness to his return in the future. CBS said it was “grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast” and said it understood the importance of spending more time with family, adding that “’60 Minutes’ will be here if he ever wants to return.”
The announcement also arrived amid questions about leadership and editorial direction at “60 Minutes.” The report said the decision comes during a period of turmoil at the show and raised the issue of whether Cooper’s departure had any connection to Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News who has led the network since last fall; Cooper’s spokesperson said Monday he had no additional comment.
The report said Weiss’s tenure has coincided with tension inside the program around at least one episode’s handling of a report on the Trump administration’s immigration policy. It said the show in December held off at the last minute showing a report from correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi about immigration, with Alfonsi saying a greater effort was needed to get an interview with administration officials while complaining privately that the decision was political in nature; the story later aired a month afterward with additional administration comments, but without on-camera interviews.
“60 Minutes” has also faced legal fallout connected to its interview handling. The report said President Donald Trump sued “60 Minutes” over how it handled an interview with his 2024 election opponent, Kamala Harris, and that CBS’s parent company Paramount Global settled out of court, adding to the uncertainty around the program’s recent months.
Cooper’s “60 Minutes” work has included a unique arrangement tied to CNN, with the report saying he has contributed stories to the CBS broadcast since the 2006-2007 television season through a job-sharing arrangement with CNN. His prime-time cable news show, “Anderson Cooper 360,” has aired since 2003, and the report said Cooper’s CNN role continues as he steps away from CBS’s Sunday night flagship.
The report said Cooper’s decision to leave “60 Minutes” was first reported by the online news site Breaker.