Anderson Cooper announced Monday that he will leave CBS News’ “60 Minutes” at the conclusion of the current season in May, ending a run with the program that stretches back to the 2006-2007 broadcast season.
Cooper cited his desire to spend more time with his young children as the driving force behind the decision.
“Being a correspondent at ’60 Minutes’ has been one of the great honors of my career,” Cooper said in a statement.
“I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crew in the business.”
Cooper continued: “For nearly 20 years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs and 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.”
Cooper made an appearance on Sunday’s episode of the program, introducing a segment on documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
While Cooper is expected to complete the remainder of the season, it remains unclear whether Sunday’s appearance represented one of his final regular contributions to the broadcast.
His spokesperson declined to offer any comment beyond the official statement when contacted Monday.
CBS responded publicly to the news with a statement of its own, praising Cooper’s nearly two-decade association with the show.
“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,” the network said.
“’60 Minutes’ will be here if he ever wants to return.”
Cooper has simultaneously anchored CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” a prime-time program that has been on the air since 2003, making him one of the few prominent journalists to maintain active roles across both cable and legacy broadcast television.
His departure arrives during a period of considerable turbulence at “60 Minutes.”
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss took leadership of the network last fall, and her tenure has already generated internal friction and outside scrutiny.
Questions arose Monday about whether Cooper’s exit was connected to the changes occurring inside the network, though no direct link was established.
Tensions inside the broadcast escalated in December when a segment produced by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, examining the Trump administration’s immigration policy, was pulled before it could air.
Weiss stated at the time that the report required additional outreach to administration officials.
Alfonsi reportedly opposed the delay privately, characterizing it as politically motivated.
The segment eventually aired roughly one month later, incorporating added responses from administration officials, though no on-camera interviews were included.
The program has also been entangled in legal proceedings.
President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against “60 Minutes” related to the program’s handling of an interview conducted with then-2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, reached an out-of-court settlement with Trump to resolve the lawsuit.
That settlement was reported to have generated frustration among some members of the newsroom.
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