Detroit is (was) on Wednesday

Anderson Cooper set to report live from Warren

By Julie Hinds • Free Press Staff Writer • March 18, 2009



When he's not at his usual CNN anchor desk, Anderson Cooper is off doing things like covering natural disasters or putting together "Planet in Peril" reports.

He's a guy who travels the globe for news. Today, he'll be in metro Detroit.

Cooper is scheduled to do his show, "Anderson Cooper 360," live tonight from here. It's his latest stop on a five-city, five-day trip to see how Americans are being affected by the economic crisis.


The show is broadcasting tonight from J.B. Bamboozles at 7280 E. 12 Mile in Warren, across from the GM Tech Center.

According to the show’s Web site, CNN’s Randi Kaye is doing a piece tonight on lessons Detroit could learn from Pittsburgh. It also said a producer has visited a Detroit neighborhood where some artists are trying to bring in other creative types and create green energy homes. The effort was recently described in an essay that ran in the New York Times.

The visits are part of a big push by CNN called "Road to Rescue: A CNN Survival Guide." The cable news network is devoting a week of programming to the global economic situation and involving all of its shows, anchors and correspondents in the effort.

"It is unprecedented," said Cooper. "And it is a sign of what a major story we think this is."

Cooper is one of CNN's highest-profile names and also is something of a pop-culture star.

Recently, he played a key role in the network's coverage of the 2008 presidential race and moderated the 2007 CNN/YouTube debates. Another story he's been devoted to is the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the rebuilding process in New Orleans.

Along with his regular news duties, he occasionally handles lighter chores like hosting CNN's New Year's Eve countdown from Times Square with comedian Kathy Griffin.

He even pops up sometimes as a substitute host on "Live with Regis and Kelly."

The silver-haired anchor is looking for stories that offer reasons for optimism, even in places where you might not expect it.

"We're trying, as much as possible wherever we go, to talk to people who are finding ways to not just survive, but in some cases even to thrive," said Cooper on Monday. "We're trying to look at what is actually working in some communities and what's not working. We hope to find those stories in Detroit as well."

A few years ago, Cooper was in the Motor City to hang out with country singer Kenny Chesney during a Ford Field concert for a "60 Minutes" profile.

He has also reported in the past on homelessness in Detroit for "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Cooper said his team was casting a wide net in the region in the search for stories.

Although he knows the metro area has been hit hard by the financial meltdown, he's not coming in with any preconceptions.

"I try not to come into a place with an expectation of what I'm going to find," he said. "I try to come into it with fresh eyes."