Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Anderson Cooper to Host Two-hour CNN Program at 10 p.m. (ET
Please notice the highlighted text as the afternoon CNN schedule has been re-arranged.
Source: CNN PressRoom Anderson Cooper will take the helm of a live news program from 10 p.m. to midnight (ET) on CNN beginning next week. Cooper, who has reported from the scene of such major news events as Hurricane Katrina, the famine in Niger, the Terry Schiavo case, the war in Iraq, the tsunami in South Asia and the 2004 elections, will be topping off CNN’s prime-time schedule with two hours dedicated to exploring in-depth the most important and relevant news of the day. Anderson Cooper 360º, which debuted on Sept. 8, 2003, will air from its new timeslot beginning Monday, Nov. 7.
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer will now air from 7 to 8 p.m., in addition to a two-hour afternoon block from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Situation Room has proven to be a breakout show with its expert contributors and correspondents and its innovative style of producing live news coverage. With the addition of the 7 p.m hour replacing Anderson Cooper 360º at 7 p.m., The Situation Room will now receive greater prominence in the CNN lineup. In addition, Live From, anchored by Kyra Phillips, will extend one hour and will now air from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Anderson Cooper 360º features Cooper’s passionate reporting, aggressive questioning and engaging interview style, while showcasing the best of CNN’s reporting each day. From national security, politics, domestic and international affairs, to pop culture, Anderson Cooper 360º will cover a broad range of topics with contributions from a regular roster of correspondents and contributors.
“Anderson is one of the most distinctive voices anywhere on television,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “He has broken through the clutter with his candor, his humanity and his emotional connection to the most pressing stories of our time. As a result, he has gained a strong following among viewers that we hope to build on.”
“Anderson has an eclectic range of interests, and this program will reflect that,” said David Doss, senior executive producer of Anderson Cooper360. “We will delve in depth into the issues that viewers care about but don’t have time to decipher each day.”
Doss, an award-winning veteran producer, has held senior positions at both ABC and NBC. Doss is also credited with boosting NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw from the No. 3 evening newscast to No. 1.
During Cooper’s five weeks in Mississippi and New Orleans covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, Cooper extended his reporting beyond Anderson Cooper 360º at 7 p.m. and began co-anchoring a special edition of NewsNight from 10 p.m. to midnight. In the month of October, the new, live 11 p.m. broadcast grew 27 percent in total viewers and 41 percent in adults ages 25-54 compared to last year.
Cooper joined CNN in December 2001, moving to the 7 p.m. hour in March 2003 following his stellar coverage of the war in Iraq. Since joining CNN, Cooper has anchored major breaking news stories. He traveled to Sri Lanka to cover the tsunami, to Baghdad for the Iraqi elections, to Vatican City for coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, to Niger for coverage of the famine and to all the regions affected by the major recent disasters, most notably Hurricane Katrina. For “America Votes 2004,” he moderated a Democratic presidential candidates forum the network sponsored with Rock the Vote.
Before joining CNN, Cooper was an ABC News correspondent and host of the network's reality program, The Mole. Cooper joined ABC from Channel One News, where he served as chief international correspondent, reporting stories from Bosnia, Iran, Israel, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa and Vietnam. Cooper has won several journalism awards throughout his career.
# posted by ATN @ 4:55 PM 
