{"id":1695,"date":"2026-02-20T04:03:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2026-02-20T04:03:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:03:35","slug":"anderson-cooper-gives-up-his-19-year-career-at-cbs-for-his-young-sons-his-next-step-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/?p=1695","title":{"rendered":"Anderson Cooper gives up his 19-year-career at CBS for his young sons \u2013 his next step revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For nearly two decades, Anderson Cooper has been a staple of Sunday evening television, his silver hair and sharp reporting becoming synonymous with the ticking clock of CBS News\u2019 60 Minutes<\/em>. But in a move that signals the end of a significant era in broadcast journalism, the 16-time Emmy Award winner has announced his departure from the venerable newsmagazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the media industry is often rife with stories of contract disputes or behind-the-scenes friction, Cooper\u2019s exit is remarkably devoid of drama. Instead, the veteran journalist is making a choice rooted in the most universal of motivations: the desire to be present for his children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Career Highlight Comes to a Close<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On February 16, the announcement sent ripples through the news world. Cooper, who has balanced a demanding dual role at CNN and CBS for nearly 20 years, officially signaled that his tenure at 60 Minutes<\/em> is drawing to a close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a correspondent at \u201960 Minutes\u2019 has been one of the highlights of my career,\u201d Cooper said in a formal statement. \u201cI got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crews in the business. For nearly twenty years, I\u2019ve 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 want to spend time with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cticking clock\u201d will continue to run, and CBS News was quick to offer its blessing to one of its most distinguished contributors. In a statement released Monday evening, the network expressed its gratitude for Cooper\u2019s decades of dedication, noting that they \u201cunderstand the importance of spending more time with family\u201d and added that the door at 60 Minutes<\/em> \u201cwill be here if he ever wants to return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reimagining a Future Once Thought Impossible<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To understand the weight of Cooper\u2019s decision, one has to look back at the journey that brought him to fatherhood. For Cooper, the road to raising sons Wyatt and Sebastian was paved with a long-held belief that it might never happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was 12 years old and knew I was gay and thought about my life, it always upset me because I thought, \u2018I will never be able to have a kid,\u2019\u201d Cooper told People<\/em> back in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That narrative changed irrevocably on April 30, 2020, when Cooper broke character from his usual hard-news reporting to reveal on-air that he had become a father. His first son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper\u2014named after Anderson\u2019s father, who died when the journalist was just ten\u2014was born via surrogate just three days prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The birth was a transformative moment for Cooper, who publicly thanked the \u201cremarkable surrogate\u201d and her family, describing the experience as an \u201cextraordinary blessing.\u201d At the time, he remarked, \u201cIt feels like my life has actually begun. This is a new level of love. It\u2019s unlike anything I\u2019ve experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Modern Family Dynamic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The expansion of Cooper\u2019s family continued in 2022 with the arrival of his second son, Sebastian Luke. In a move that reflects his commitment to stability, Cooper has co-parented both boys with his former partner and close friend, Benjamin Maisani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite their split in 2018, the two have maintained a united front. \u201cIt\u2019s probably an unusual setup,\u201d Cooper admitted in 2021, \u201cbut I knew he would be a great dad and he is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Cooper continues to maintain his presence at CNN\u2014hosting his popular Sunday long-form program The Whole Story<\/em> and his acclaimed podcast on grief\u2014the departure from CBS represents a conscious effort to trim a grueling schedule. By stepping back from the intensive travel and production demands of 60 Minutes<\/em>, he is carving out the space necessary to witness the \u201cbliss, humor, and gentleness\u201d of his sons\u2019 early years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he told a September 2023 cover story, these moments of \u201csheer delight\u201d are what currently define his life. While he has previously noted there are \u201cno plans\u201d for more children, his focus remains singular: \u201cI want to be the best parent I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Anderson Cooper closes this storied chapter of his professional life, he does so not with a sense of loss, but with a clear-eyed focus on the future. The newsroom will be a little quieter without his signature reports, but for Wyatt and Sebastian, their father is coming home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For nearly two decades, Anderson Cooper has been a staple of Sunday evening television, his silver hair and sharp reporting becoming synonymous with the ticking clock of CBS News\u2019 60 Minutes. But in a move that signals the end of a significant era in broadcast journalism, the 16-time Emmy Award winner has announced his departure from …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1697,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions\/1697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}