Next Stop, Raleigh, NC

Tuesday, MAR 24, 2009

CNN's Anderson Cooper To Speak In At NC School


By The Raleigh Telegram 24.MAR.09

ELON - CNN's Anderson Cooper, the well-known television journalist who made a name for himself with his coverage of Hurricane Katrina, will be speaking at Elon University on April 7th.

Cooper currently works as a CNN news network anchor and host of his own show, "Anderson Cooper 360°." In addition, he investigates segments for the "60 Minutes" news show on the CBS network.

The famed journalist will appear at Elon University on April 7th, where he will conduct a question-and-answer discussion with students at 2pm and deliver a special lecture at 4pm in the Koury Center’s Alumni Gym.

According to Elon University, Cooper will discuss current events, drawing on his extensive experience covering major news stories across the globe.

Since joining CNN in 2001, Cooper has covered Hurricane Katrina in the United States, the tsunami in Sri Lanka, conflicts in Africa, and the war in Iraq.

Cooper became a household name in America after his coverage of several hurricanes but most notably his Hurricane Katrina coverage set him apart from other anchors. Cooper gained credibility with viewers when he seemed to be one of the few television journalists bluntly asking politicians when victims would actually receive help, instead of promises that assistance would arrive soon.

Cooper also anchored much of CNN's live coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Vatican City as well as the Terri Schiavo story in Florida.

For “America Votes 2004,” Cooper 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 anchored ABC’s live, interactive news and interview program, “World News Now,” as well as providing reports for “World News Tonight,” “20/20” and “20/20 Downtown.” Previously, he was a New York-based correspondent for ABC News, reporting primarily for “World News Saturday/Sunday.”

Cooper joined ABC from Channel One News, where he served as chief international correspondent. During that time, he reported and produced stories from Bosnia, Iran, Israel, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa and Vietnam.

Cooper has won several awards for his work, including a National Headliners Award for his tsunami coverage, an Emmy Award for his contribution to ABC’s coverage of Princess Diana's funeral; a Silver Plaque from the Chicago International Film Festival for his report from Sarajevo on the Bosnian civil war; a Bronze Telly for his coverage of famine in Somalia; a Bronze Award from the National Educational Film and Video Festival for a report on political Islam; and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism for his 20/20 Downtown report on high school athlete Corey Johnson.

Cooper graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. He also studied Vietnamese at the University of Hanoi. Cooper is based in New York City.

PHOTO: Anderson Cooper at the inaugurtion of President Obama in January. Photo from CNN via Cooper's Facebook page.