Anderson Cooper ends his time at 60 Minutes

Hoping to spend more time with his kids, Cooper announced his departure from 60 Minutes after nearly two decades.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  February 16, 2026 | 10:41pm
Photo: Gage Skidmore
TV News Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper ends his time at 60 Minutes

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the near-constant self-inflicted humiliation from CBS News in recent months, Anderson Cooper announced his departure from 60 Minutes earlier today (per Reuters). Cooper has been a correspondent for the once-storied, now-iffy news magazine show for nearly two decades, holding down dueling responsibilities between rival news organizations, CBS and CNN, since 2006. In a rather diplomatic statement that ignores the Bari Weiss-sized elephant in the room, Cooper claims he wants to spend more time with his family, which is easier than saying anything critical about CBS. “For nearly twenty 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,” Cooper said. Never fear, Cooper-heads. He can still be found on CNN, where he recently signed a new contract.

Cooper is the latest long-time staffer to jump ship from CBS since the network began hobbling its journalists and capitulating to President Trump. Since Trump returned to power and began tossing weak-sauce lawsuits at media outlets, which, in turn, paid him millions to go away, CBS has been hemorrhaging journalists. Bill Owens was the first to depart last April, followed soon after by CBS News chief executive Wendy McMahon. Later that year, CBS Evening News co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois resigned amid Bari Weiss’s punting of the 60 Minutes story about American concentration camps, “Inside CECOT,” claiming she was waiting for the White House’s buy-in. But don’t worry, they’ve been replaced by Tony Dokoupil, who loves America, salutes Marco Rubio, and probably hopes we’ll stop making fun of Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil sometime this century. 

Ignoring the many fires burning down its house, CBS praised Cooper. “For more than two decades, Anderson Cooper has taken 60 Minutes viewers on journeys to faraway places, told us unforgettable stories, reported consequential investigations, and interviewed many prominent figures,” the network said. “We’re grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family. 60 Minutes will be here if he ever wants to return.”

 
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