A More Personal Side Of Himself

September 8, 2011
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Silver-domed Anderson Cooper invigorated by leap to daytime TV with 'Anderson'

TORONTO - Anderson Cooper helms a nightly news show on CNN, travels the globe covering breaking stories and handles occasional stints as a correspondent for "60 Minutes." But despite the packed schedule, he says his newest project — the daytime chatfest "Anderson" — won't wear him down.

"When you're doing something you actually really love then it doesn't really feel like work," Cooper explained earlier this year during a stop in Toronto to introduce media to the show.

"On 'Anderson' there's going to be a studio audience of a couple hundred people and there's a lot of interaction with viewers.... That's really invigorating. That's fun and that kind of adds energy to your day rather than takes away energy."

But it will make for long days, Cooper admitted.

The silver-haired newsman expects to bank episodes of "Anderson" on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and spend his evenings working on "360."

Cooper said maintaining his CNN gig was a condition of his move into syndicated daytime television.

His 20 years as a journalist have included coverage of high-profile global events including the famine in Somalia, the Egyptian uprising, earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

His engaging delivery and distinctive coif made him a favourite among female viewers, especially — a factor that is expected to help him in his move to the more female-skewed daytime schedule.

"Anderson" debuts Sept. 12 on CTV and CTV Two.

Cooper said he'll be revealing a more personal side of himself on the show and is excited by the opportunity to tackle a broader range of social and pop culture subjects.

"The appeal is really about storytelling — about being able to tell stories that don't really fit onto an evening newscast," said Cooper, whose "60 Minutes" reports have included lighter celebrity fare on musicians Lady Gaga and Eminem and Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps.

"At night we focus on politicians, we talk to pundits. During the day I'm focusing on real people and people who are in situations, sometimes not of their making, who are facing challenges and overcoming those challenges. We'll be doing really a full range of topics whether it's social issues one day, a big celebrity interview the next day, some fun pop culture stuff the following day. We really think 'Anderson' will be one of the only shows in daytime that really covers a full spectrum of stories."

The debut of "Anderson" follows the exit of daytime giant "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Cooper, who also found time to release his bestselling memoir "Dispatches from the Edge" in 2006, said he hopes to quickly carve out his own identity.

"No one can replace Oprah and no one should even try," said Cooper, who will tape his show at The Allen Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center, overlooking New York's Central Park.

"What I'm trying to do is just create my own show and create my own program and be authentic and be authentic to myself and make sure that the show is informative, is entertaining and that there's value to it."

Still, Cooper noted that he'll be taking cues from another silver-domed legend — Phil Donahue.

"Not just because he's another white-haired guy but I grew up watching Phil Donahue and certainly, like Oprah (Winfrey), he really forged a path and really created this format," he said.

"I think his whole interaction with the audience was really interesting and I don't really see other shows doing that anymore. But that's definitely something I plan on doing."