Sunday, January 31, 2010
It's Beginning To Look Like Easter...
which was a sensation at the Obama inauguration.
Both photoshopped photos courtesy of Doxieone / Liz Kearley at Flickr. Thanks Doxieone!
CNN Heroes in Haiti
January 29, 2010
Video: Heroes helping Haiti
Posted: 05:45 PM ET
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Anderson Cooper
CNN Anchor
Saturday, January 30, 2010
2 More Pictures
2 pictures of a lonesome Anderson Cooper arriving at an undisclosed airport in an undisclosed city. These two photos arrived at my secret e-mail address. The return address on the e-mail was from Argentina, with a (no response) return address! In Argentina I only know my secret agent Cristina. I contacted her but she had no recollection of any 2 mysterious pictures of Anderson being sent to me, so she could not identify them.
Evidence, clue #1:
(notice Poinsettias and jackets)
Please notice in the first picture that the passengers, including Anderson, are all wearing sweaters and jackets, meaning that they are in a cold city. At this time it is Summer in South America, so the pictures were not taken on the Southern Hemisphere. Also, notice the 2 copious bouquets of Poinsettias on the counter -- this gives us the clue of the time the pictures were taken: December. Ah! But the plot thickens... In the second picture, Anderson has removed his jacket and he is carrying it hanging from his muscular arm, leaving him in a faded, worn out, black, tight, yummy t-shirt... So it is not! December, it is Springtime. And he is not carrying much luggage either, other than a suit bag over his left shoulder making his biceps bulge like a bad thought so intense, it is ready to break out of the skin of the libidinous brain containing it.
Also notice the lack of cameras, crew or entourage around him. He is completely by himself. He doesn't seem to be in any hurry either, he doesn't seem to be concerned with anything around him. He is so calm he doesn't notice the presence of this indiscreet photographer stalking him.
Evidence, clue #2:
(notice lack of luggage and arms' muscles)
The lack of luggage tells us that this was perhaps a single, over night stay in some not too far away place; But where?! And With WHOM?! Do you recognize this airport? Do you recognize the city where this concrete building might be? Do you know of any place on Earth where Poinsettias bloom in Springtime?
Any information you could provide will be very much appreciated and it will be kept anonymous; your name and e-mail address will not be disclosed to anyone but to any of Anderson's fans who request it. I promise. Thank you.
Evidence, clue #1:
(notice Poinsettias and jackets)
Please notice in the first picture that the passengers, including Anderson, are all wearing sweaters and jackets, meaning that they are in a cold city. At this time it is Summer in South America, so the pictures were not taken on the Southern Hemisphere. Also, notice the 2 copious bouquets of Poinsettias on the counter -- this gives us the clue of the time the pictures were taken: December. Ah! But the plot thickens... In the second picture, Anderson has removed his jacket and he is carrying it hanging from his muscular arm, leaving him in a faded, worn out, black, tight, yummy t-shirt... So it is not! December, it is Springtime. And he is not carrying much luggage either, other than a suit bag over his left shoulder making his biceps bulge like a bad thought so intense, it is ready to break out of the skin of the libidinous brain containing it.
Also notice the lack of cameras, crew or entourage around him. He is completely by himself. He doesn't seem to be in any hurry either, he doesn't seem to be concerned with anything around him. He is so calm he doesn't notice the presence of this indiscreet photographer stalking him.
Evidence, clue #2:
(notice lack of luggage and arms' muscles)
The lack of luggage tells us that this was perhaps a single, over night stay in some not too far away place; But where?! And With WHOM?! Do you recognize this airport? Do you recognize the city where this concrete building might be? Do you know of any place on Earth where Poinsettias bloom in Springtime?
Any information you could provide will be very much appreciated and it will be kept anonymous; your name and e-mail address will not be disclosed to anyone but to any of Anderson's fans who request it. I promise. Thank you.
Live with Anderson and Kelly...?
PopEater Fans Want Anderson Cooper to Replace Regis on 'Live!'
By Amber James
Posted Jan 30th 2010 -- 06:31 AM
Earlier this week PopEater's Rob Shuter brought up a great question: How do you replace Regis Philbin? Although the show has been testing many great potential new hosts while Philbin underwent his recent successful hip replacement, none of them have been able to fill his huge shoes. Despite speculation that a woman might move into the 'Live!' seat, PopEater readers on Facebook and Twitter showed immense support for Anderson Cooper. Does he have what it takes?While there were many host suggestions, which included everyone from Conan O'Brien to Reese Witherspoon and Mark Consuelos, Cooper was the clear fan favorite.
"Hmmm... I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anderson Cooper (and I think Kelly does too!). Anderson would be awesome," PopEater Facebook fan, Doreen Rosa Guilfoyle wrote.
Cooper has filled in for Philbin in the past to rave reviews. But most recently, the CNN anchor has been gaining a lot of attention lately reporting from Port-Au-Prince following the earthquake in Haiti.
PopEater's Twitter fan @MJWenchy said, "Whenever Regis is ready to retire, I would love Anderson Cooper to replace him."
Reporters turned Doctors
For Haiti Earthquake Coverage, Would Less Have Been More?
By Erin Zaleski
January 29, 2010, 12:00 PM
In the latest Global Pulse Episode, host Erin Coker looks at media coverage of the Haiti earthquake. Watch the episode and share your thoughts below!
Does the excessive coverage of Haiti’s earthquake –not to mention the questionable journalistic and medical ethics involved when doctor/reporters can’t decide whether to operate or do interviews— give the viewer a better understanding of the disaster? Or is it little more than the casting of journalists as action heroes?
The New Republic’s Chief Editor, Noam Scheiber, in his recent article taking the news establishment to task, wrote that “in Haiti the dozens of redundant dispatches are stressing an already perilously fragile situation.”
In a follow-up interview with Global Pulse featured in this week’s episode, Scheiber says, “More information is great. But if an airport is being taxed with a volume way above its normal capacity and as a result aid workers, doctors and nurses can’t get in, then I think we have gotten to the point where one good—information—is trumping another good—relief workers…to the detriment of the people we are trying to help.”
The solution, Scheiber thinks, is a so-called “disaster pool.” Comprising a limited number of reporters in country, the disaster pool would share information with news outlets in a similar manner that White House correspondents share “pool reports” with the dozens of journalists unable to attend a briefing.
This might preclude scenes like those we used in this episode, of Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric aiding wounded children, but it may give networks more time for in-depth stories that discuss Haiti’s tumultuous history, the roots of its abject poverty and what day-to-day life was like for the average Haitian pre-earthquake.
Journalist Marc Cooper, characterizing the coverage as “myopic” and “disaster porn”, on his blog, wrote, “It's a totally legit news story for CNN or anyone else [to] zoom in on this or that dramatic and heart-rending rescue of one or another victim trapped in rubble. But every one of those stories is also a stark and rather sickening reminder of how the daily pre-earthquake deaths, starvation and deprivation were considered SO non-newsworthy.”
This reminds me of my own trip to Haiti in the fall of 2008, as part of a disaster response team after a series of hurricanes killed hundreds of people and badly damaged the city of Gonaïves. While the storms made headlines, the fallout apparently wasn’t on a large enough scale to warrant widespread news coverage.
Looking back, what I remember most is the darkness. There is little electricity in Haiti, and the nighttime’s dim storefronts and weak candlelight gave the impression of a city that was a relic of another age.
Will Port-au-Prince once again become a forgotten city? As this article from the Columbia Journalism Review reminds me, there was once, and is likely to be again, only one full-time American journalist in Haiti.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Aftershock
If I was in the balcony and I felt an aftershock, the first thing I'd do would be to jump inside, away from the hanging balcony! Anderson and Karl Penhaul barely noticed the four seconds or so of the tremor and stayed put. Four to five seconds would have been the time it would have taken me to get to the middle of the street where the closest building would have been three blocks away!
"...he goes into third-world countries..."
Kathy Griffin Addresses Anderson Cooper's Sexuality!
By Michael Musto Tuesday, Jan 26 2010
Meanwhile, chatty Kathy Griffin may have toasted Anderson Cooper on New Year's Eve with the F-word, but she still won't use the G-word around him. She was just asked about Coop's sexuality by DCAgenda.com and she stayed cutely dodgy about it. The interviewer quoted me as a souse—I mean, a source—then wondered, "With allegations of Cooper's sexual orientation in constant flux, did CNN prohibit you from any sexuality jokes in regards to Cooper?" Rather than shriek, " 'Allegations?' Being gay is not a crime!" Griffin replied: "Anderson has this great line where he says, 'I don't want to be the news, I want to report the news.' And so that's why, even though I'm the biggest mouth in the world, I actually don't talk about his personal life, because you have to keep in mind he goes into third-world countries where it's a very different culture, so, you know."
Well, that says it all about his sexual leanings. You know how heterophobic third-world countries can be.
...............................Reason #85 why Anderson is still in the closet:
Haiti Children
January 29, 2010
Video: What's next for Haiti's children
Posted: 10:57 AM ET
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Anderson Cooper
CNN Anchor
CNN's Anderson Cooper talks to adoption specialist Jane Aronson on how people can help children in Haiti.
Saving Haiti
HEROES SAVING HAITI
Friday, January 24, 2010
11:00 PM ET
CNN HEROES: Saving Haiti
Tonight, don't miss an Anderson Cooper 360° special to see the strength of Haiti's survivors, the hope of the people and how individual acts of heroism are helping to rescue a nation. Tonight at 11 p.m. ET.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Haiti Heroes
Cooper to Anchor 'Heroes' Haiti Special Tomorrow Night
By Kevin Allocca on Jan 28, 2010 -- 03:29 PM
•
- CNN will air another "AC360" special tomorrow night focusing on Haiti. "CNN Heroes: Saving Haiti" will be anchored by Anderson Cooper and will feature recent "CNN Heroes" as well as a number of other individuals who are working in the country including surgeons, a UNICEF therapist, and rescue teams. "CNN Heroes: Saving Haiti" will air at 11pmET. Press release after the jump.
CNN HEROES: Saving Haiti - An Anderson Cooper 360° Special
Illuminating the People Who Are Making a Difference in Haiti, Airing Friday, January 29 at 11pm ET
CNN’s Anderson Cooper and several CNN Heroes will come together for a special hour about courage, sacrifice and extraordinary personal commitment to help the people in Haiti. In the days following the devastating earthquake there have been brave and selfless acts of kindness and heroism throughout the country and CNN is dedicating this hour to acknowledge and honor those people. The hour will also follow up with some familiar faces: heroes who were honored by CNN’s annual initiative CNN Heroes and are in Haiti now working to rebuild the country. The special will air on Friday, January 29th on CNN and CNN International at 11pm ET.
Anderson Cooper’s reports on both tireless search and rescue teams as well as Haitians who suffered so much but who went on to help others while maintaining their resilient spirit. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will profile surgeons Jerry and Marlon Bitar, twin Haitian brothers who run a hospital in Haiti with minimum supplies, yet they are determined to save lives and rebuild their country. CNN international correspondent Ivan Watson will profile Francois Rozenvil Gertha, a Haitian UNICEF therapist working with the children of Haiti on what is being done to treat the long-term emotional turmoil that follows a human disaster of this magnitude. Before the earthquake, Haiti had an astonishing 380,000 orphans, a number that has greatly increased since. Gary Tuchman, CNN correspondent, introduces us to Jean Robert Cadet, a man committed to rescuing children who have been victimized in Haiti.
In addition to Haiti’s everyday heroes, the special hour will also revisit CNN Heroes who have stepped in and are helping out in the relief and rescue efforts in Haiti. CNN Heroes is in its fourth year of spotlighting everyday citizens accomplishing extraordinary deeds. Doc Hendley, 2009 CNN Top Ten Hero, whose charity Wine to Water brings sustainable water purification systems to countries in need, is distributing the much needed water to the citizens of Haiti. Tad Agoglia and his First Response Team, honored in 2008’s CNN Heroes Tribute Show, will bring their recovery equipment and will be going on missions throughout the city. Boby Duval’s group L’Athletique d’Haiti‘s after-school soccer program, featured in 2007’s CNN Heroes, was created to feed and tutor the children. The soccer field is now a makeshift home to displaced Haitians who are encamped in Cité Soleil.
The special hour is produced by Anderson Cooper 360° executive producer David Doss and CNN Heroes executive producer Kelly Flynn. Executive producer Charlie Moore from Haiti and producer Chuck Hadad in New York also contribute to this hour. The special will re-air on Saturday and Sunday, January 30 and 31st at 8 and 11pm ET and 2am ET.
CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.
Wine Train Tonight
Napa Wine Train in middle of stimulus fight
Wine train funded by stimulus?
By Randi Kaye, CNN
January 28, 2010 -- 5:05 p.m. EST
Watch the controversy over whether the Napa wine train is a "stimulus project" on "AC360°" tonight at 10 ET.
Napa Valley, California (CNN) -- It is the quintessential Napa Valley experience.
Passengers aboard sleek antique rail cars pay more than $100 for a four-course meal, not including the wine. A recent lunch aboard the train included steak, lobster cakes and local greens.
During their three-hour journey winding through Napa Valley, passengers can choose from more than 100 wines to complement their meal.
The Napa Valley Wine Train has been shuttling passengers through one of the country's most famous valleys for more than two decades, but now it's under fire because of Republican Sens. Tom Coburn and John McCain. They ranked the wine train as No. 11 on their list of the 100 most "wasteful" and "silly" stimulus projects, leading some to call it the Stimulus Waste Express.
When Melodie Hilton, who handles public relations for the wine train, learned about that nickname, she was less than pleased. Hilton said the report temporarily affected business. She said through a smile, "it's never fun to wake up and find that you're an object of national scorn."
But CNN found that scorn undeserved. In fact, CNN confirmed that not a single stimulus dollar is being spent on the wine train itself. The stimulus money is really being used for a massive flood-control project for the valley. The train's tracks happen to be in the way, so they have to be moved. It is a simple fix, but it's not cheap.
To make it happen, $54 million is being used to build a flood wall at the wine train depot, elevate the tracks and move them 33 feet, and raise four bridges.
How did the wine train end up on the list of wasteful projects? "The person who did the research for the senators didn't do a thorough job," Hilton said, "and I think if they did a thorough job, we wouldn't have been on the list at all."
Barry Martin is the spokesman for the Napa River Flood Control Project. He called the senators' report "deliberate deception" and a way to score "political points."
Martin says this is not a "frivolous project" or a waste of stimulus dollars.
"This is perfectly fitting into what stimulus is intended to do. People are on the job working today who might not be otherwise," Martin said.
Coburn's spokesman said the whole project is a "misplaced priority." He also criticized it for being a "no-bid" project, meaning only one contractor was considered.
Just how many people are employed on the project is ambiguous. Martin says that at least 600 jobs have been created for the whole thing. And those people, he says, will stay on the job two to three years.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the flood control initiative, said that every $1 million spent creates about 20 jobs but said it didn't have an exact figure of jobs for the project.
And the contractor, Suulutaaq, had reported just 12 jobs created to the White House. A spokeswoman said the company expects that 200 people will be employed over the life of the project.
Regardless, the goal is to prevent Napa from flooding every few years, as it does now. In 1986, a flood cost the city $100 million. In 2005, flood damage hit $115 million.
Hilton, who has lived through the floods in Napa Valley and recalls neighborhoods under feet of water, wrote a letter to McCain: "Since you have thrown down the gauntlet, and made accusations, I would like to demand satisfaction! ... Talk to the officials behind this project; learn what is really going on. It is your right and your responsibility."
"We all have the same goal," she later said. "Nobody appreciates waste. If he came out and explored this, I don't think this would have been on the list."
CNN's Susan Chun contributed to this report.
Microzone
Microsoft To Patch Hole In OzoneREDMOND, Wash. (CAP)(CNN)(PETE) - ...Thank you Larry, this is Anderson Cooper reporting for Anderson Cooper 360 from Redmond, Washington where Bill Gates himself, the main man at Microsoft, has called for a press conference to announce plans to deliver a half dozen security updates next Tuesday, including patches for Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and the hole in the Earth's ozone layer. Besides, I was told by a computer programmer who requested anonymity or he'd be sent to a far, forgotten country where the Bill & Melinda charities have offices. This Robert Umo guy told me that Bill is sneaking a few iPhone apps that will be either useless, boring or just plain nasty, apps that will make your iPhone ring "La Marseillese" every time it rings; or that will make the iPhone run as fast as a kind thought in the mind of Pat Robertson. The update covers a total of 12 flaws to help protect consumers from malicious attacks (except those coming from Microsoft itself, of course) as well as an increased incidence of skin cancer and eye cataracts or crosseyedness.
"We acknowledge that there has been an ozone layer exploit in the wild for decades," told me Microsoft Security Response Center spokesman Jerry Bryant, also on request of anonymity might he be letting a cat out of the bag that was not supposed to be out just yet. "But we want to point out that running Earth in Safe Mode can mitigate this vulnerability and prevent the planet from becoming further compromised, or to fall in the hands of the republicans."
Technology bloggers and other pundits are applauding Bill Gates for patching the hole outside of the Microsoft's normal monthly security update schedule, which they say shows just how much the software giant cares about the environment, and "offsets all that hair spray Bill Gates used to use back in the '70s and '80s -- although the rumor exists that he still does."
"We're doing this for all the penguins and polar bears and abominable snowmen that live in Antarctica, and for Dick Cheney, for whom Bill is building a Summer palace complete with indoor-outdoor, temperature controlled swimming pool and fake coconut plants with fake monkeys climbing them." Bryant said in a recent blog post about the patching. "We're not saying this patch is going to fix global warming, but Al Gore may want to break out those flannel shirts again."However, critics point out that Microsoft is late to the table, noting that in some European markets such as Germany and Austria, users have long been using an open source ozone layer plugin with decent success, but no bad (or good) apps for the iPhone. The European version is being criticized for letting the Apple iPhone app Phineas & Ferb's Ozone Generatorinator® secrete a puff of ozone gas from an oxygen atomizer located at an Antarctica research station, all while sitting on their duffs thousands of miles away.
"It has never been easier to save our planet than it is now," said CNN technology expert Rick Sanchez as he brought up a website on his laptop. "Let me just click here, and here. And then click this button, and ... there! I literally just stopped 15 square miles of rainforest from burning." Rick's smile soon disappeared when the computer went berserk and ended up displaying a result of 250 square miles destroyed across the planet.
"Now," Rick continued, "I just need to forward this to 20 friends and we should get a neat surprise to pop up on the screen. Hopefully with the answer to that little forest riddle."
For their part, Microsoft officials acknowledged that engineering a patch for the hole in the ozone has taken longer than they anticipated, but noted that "Christ on a crutch, we didn't make the damn hole." They did, however, accept responsibility for the collapse of the U.S. housing market, the earthquake in Haiti, and the difficulty you have trying to indent paragraphs in Word 2007. Not a word was said of the 250 square miles of forest lost.
"And we might as well let you know that there is no ozone layer fix for Windows Vista users," Bryant said. "You were fucked up when we introduced the miserable system, you might as way stay that way. Sorry, we gave up on you guys a long time ago. Care for a mint?" Bryant offered me a mint wrapped in foil with the Windows logo on it; I took five.
Supporters of the Linux operating system said they don't believe the Earth really has a hole in the ozone layer and if by chance it does, the hole is likely so small that no one would notice anyway. While the guys at Mozilla/Firefox said: "Huh?"
Anderson & Jude Neighbors
Anderson Cooper Takes Over Firehouse – Village People Are Excited
As if having Matt Damon, Anna Wintour and Jude Law living in the area weren’t enough of a reason to love going to this school, it appears that everyone’s favorite cable guy is moving in on West 3rd Street, right behind the King Juan Carlos Center.Via the New York Post, Anderson Cooper of CNN and [Benjamin Maisani of the] Eastern Bloc fame will be moving into the old Fire Patrol 2 firehouse, that cool building with Garfield and Mercury chilling on its façade. You’ve definitely seen this place before, and it’s certainly one of the prettiest buildings in the Village. Plus, the building was just nominated for the National Register of Historic Places by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
The building was run by its old owners (a bunch of – you guessed it – firemen) from 1908 to September 2009.
So keep your eyes peeled! When the place is ready to house the good man who is currently carrying boys from street fights in Haiti, let’s not piss him off like we did to Jude Law [see below].
Jude irked by NYU dorm's-eye view
By Amber Sutherland and Jeremy Olshan
Last Updated: 9:31 AM, November 20, 2009
Posted: 3:13 AM, November 20, 2009
When Jude Law moved in next door to an NYU freshman dorm, he didn't realize he'd be giving away front-row seats to every performance -- and he's hardly pleased with his "audience."Star-struck students say they race to their dorm windows whenever the actor sets foot on his Washington Square balcony, as seen above in photos taken by one of the kids.
"There is pretty much chaos on every floor when he comes out," said Priya Vij, 18, who has a direct view of Law's balcony from her Hayden Hall window.
"People start screaming, 'Hey, Jude' -- and it's clear he can hear us."
Erica Rose, 18, keeps a pair of binoculars at the ready.
"We have the best view on the floor," she said. "It is exciting to have a celebrity living right next to you. He is really attractive. He's rugged and scruffy."
The star of Broadway's "Hamlet," who uses the balcony to play with his son and work out with his personal trainer, apparently does not appreciate the attention.
In Shakespeare's day, audience members heckled actors by hurling rotten fruit. But a few weeks ago, when Law's yoga session was interrupted, the fruit flew in the opposite direction.
"He noticed we were there and we started waving at him. Then he went inside and came back with two oranges," freshman Neha Najeeb told The Post. "He threw them at our window, but he missed." Law then went back inside and returned with two additional oranges, she said.
"This time, he hit the windows -- there was orange pulp on the glass for a week -- and then he went back to working out," she said. "Now we don't like Jude Law anymore."
Law couldn't be reached for comment.
Naheeb's roommate, Kaitlin Coari, said Law should stick to throwing the slings and arrows of his "Hamlet" role instead of produce.
"We couldn't believe it when the orange hit the window," she said. "I'm supposed to go see 'Hamlet' with my sister this Saturday. It's awkward -- I should bring some oranges, I guess
When Jude Law moved in next door to an NYU freshman dorm, he didn't realize he'd be giving away front-row seats to every performance -- and he's hardly pleased with his "audience."
Star-struck students say they race to their dorm windows whenever the actor sets foot on his Washington Square balcony, as seen above in photos taken by one of the kids.
The Forgotten Valley
January 28, 2010
Video: No aid yet for Boudon
Posted: 11:24 AM ET
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Gary Tuchman
AC360° Correspondent
The Forgotten, Forgotten Insland
January 28, 2010
Video: The forgotten island
Posted: 11:27 AM ET
2 Comments | Add a comment
2 Comments:
Vivian - Montreal January 28th, 2010 11:40 am ET
Great coverage Ivan! I wondered about that island–wasn't sure if it was inhabited. Nice to see that they were not affected by the quake, at least they still have homes. Great that they got some food and medical supplies. Keep up the great work!
Peter Treviño from New York City, NY January 28th, 2010 1:47 pm ET
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Thanks Ivan. The reports from Port-au-Prince have been terrific, thanks for all the information about life in this devastated area; but I had always wondered what happened to the areas around the capital. I am glad Forbidden Island is not in as bad shape as Port-au-Prince. What I still have not heard from is, What happened to all the animals in Haiti? The pets and burden animals, and wild life. I hope at one point you can inform us about that. Thanks again. Great, great work you guys.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mercury
Anderson Cooper's Firehouse: CNN Anchor Buys $4.3 Million New York Home (PHOTOS)Huffington Post | Danny Shea First Posted: 01-27-10 -- 12:40 PM | Updated: 01-27-10 -- 01:26 PM
Anderson Cooper has bought a $4.3 million firehouse in New York's Greenwich Village, the New York Post reports.The CNN anchor's new 8,240 square feet home at 84 West Third Street between Sullivan and Thompson Streets — which he purchased in September — boasts "its original spiral staircases, brass fire poles, overhead beams used to dry hoses and walls covered with murals marking the fire patrol's history" as well as a "bust of Mercury, the Roman god of speed, atop the firehouse's main door."
Cooper isn't the only celebrity to take up a converted residence in the neighborhood: Jude Law lived in a converted church just one block away on West 4th Street while performing on Broadway last year. Vogue editor Anna Wintour lives a block and a half down on Sullivan.
Cooper currently lives in a duplex penthouse on West 38th Street.
See exterior photos of his new digs below:
Fire Patrol 2
Anderson gets a hot property
CNN star to live in old Village firehouse
By Tom Topousis
Last Updated: 11:55 AM, January 27, 2010
Posted: 4:12 AM, January 27, 2010
Globetrotting newsman Anderson Cooper will soon be able to cool his heels in an old Greenwich Village firehouse -- complete with brass fire poles -- that he's turning into a new home, The Post has learned.The century-old building on West Third Street was nominated this week for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, a status that Cooper can use for a slew of tax breaks if his renovations maintain the firehouse's historic façade.
Neighbors have seen Cooper visiting the firehouse regularly since it was sold in September for $4.3 million by the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, which operated the private Fire Patrol 2 out of the building beginning in 1906.
The fire patrol was disbanded in 2006, and the insurance industry-backed fire patrol finally sold the four-story building last year. The owner of record is Firepatrol LLC, which lists Cooper's business agent as Carolyn Rossip Malcolm.
Malcolm didn't return calls yesterday and a CNN spokesman declined comment on Cooper's new digs.
Construction crews have already begun work inside the building, taking down partitions and ripping out old plumbing fixtures, city building records show.
But plans for a conversion to a residence have not been filed yet. Cooper has hired architect Cary Tamarkin, known for residential conversions.
"I hope the new owner will appreciate what's there and will keep as much of it intact as possible," said Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which nominated the firehouse for historic designation.
"It would be wonderful if that great interior could be preserved," said Berman, adding that his organization recommended the building for historic designation before it was sold by the fire underwriters.
The building, built in the Beaux Arts style, still has its original spiral staircases, brass fire poles, overhead beams used to dry hoses and walls covered with murals marking the fire patrol's history.
Cooper's plans for the old firehouse have yet to be filed, but the 8,240 square feet of space -- not including a two-story former stable in the rear yard -- will give him four times as much space as his current penthouse duplex on West 38th Street.
Known for dashing to disasters and wars around the world, Cooper's new home will fittingly sport a bust of Mercury, the Roman god of speed, atop the firehouse's main door.
How much time Cooper will spend in his new home is anyone's guess. Beside covering world events, like the earthquake in Haiti, he's know for vacationing around the globe, including a trip recently to the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, India, where he was spotted with close pal Benjamin Maisani, who owns an East Village bar.
The Post's Page Six reported that Cooper's room had a large round bathtub that was filled on the first night with bubbles and sprinkled with red rose petals -- a luxury that firefighters probably never enjoyed.
More Red Hot Firehouse 2
Anderson Cooper to Move Into Hot, Hot Firehouse1/27/10 at 10:15 AM
Today the Post confirms what's been rumored for a while now, that CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has purchased (for $4.3 million) and is renovating a glamorous old firehouse on West Third Street in the Village. Listen to the features of the place, which was recently nominated to be included in the National Register of Historic Places:
• Original, sinewy spiral staircases.
• Massive ceiling beams strong enough to support the trucks' massive hoses.
• Wall murals of robust firemen through the ages.
• Intact, gleaming brass firemen's poles.
• A two-story, unused stable filling out the rear.
• A strong-jawed bust of Mercury over the giant ground-floor doors.
We're guessing it's the bust of Mercury that really sealed the deal for ol' Manderson.
Anderson Gets a Hot Property [NYP]
By: Chris Rovzar
Potential PTSD
NBC Gives Free Therapy to Haiti Reporters; Anderson Cooper in Brave New Territory
By Felix Gillette
January 27, 2010 | 10:29 a.m.
In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, as NBC News employees return from the disaster zone, they will get the opportunity to relate their experiences to work-sanctioned therapists.“There is an impact on reporters from seeing all these things,” Alexandra Wallace, a senior vice president at NBC News, told The Observer.
According to Ms. Wallace, for years NBC News has offered counseling to staffers returning from such places as war zones. But in the wake of Haiti’s particular horrors, managers back in New York have stepped up efforts to remind staff members of the service. “It’s always here,” said Ms. Wallace. “But this time, we did outreach to say, hey guys, you saw some really bad stuff. … The thought of people buried alive in some cases is a particularly awful thing.”
Counselors hoping to help first responders (such as police officers or firemen) to cope with potentially PTSD-inspiring events encountered in the line of duty have long run up against a culture of stoicism. Just doing my job. Correspondents in the field often feel the same way. “That’s partially why we made a push about counseling,” said Ms. Wallace. “I’m not sure how many people would raise their hands. After all, we’re journalists. We go. We cover.” (And in the case of Anderson Cooper, uncover.)
To date, NBC News has sent several dozen staff members to Haiti, including NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor Brian Williams. Ms. Wallace said that managers have discussed setting up group therapy sessions in the future, but to date all of the counseling has been done on an individual and voluntary basis.
“After 9/11, you could see who was really struggling with stuff,” she said. “I like that we work in an environment where people can say, ‘Hey, seems like you’re having a tough time, you might want to go talk to someone.’
“These are people who have been in tough conditions in the past and will be in tough conditions in the future,” she added. “But like anything in life, if you don’t talk about something, it festers.”
Speaking of Anderson Cooper! He’s traveled the world for CNN, reporting from tsunami-ravaged coast lines to Middle Eastern war zones and seemingly every hellish place in between. But on the night of Jan. 22, American TV viewers saw the peripatetic anchor pop up in a previously unimaginable territory—namely, MSNBC.
To wit: On Friday night, MSNBC joined twenty or so other broadcast and cable networks in airing the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, despite the fact that the benefit largely revolved around the star power of an anchor from its rival network.
As it turns out, the decision to air the telethon involved a last-minute, behind-the-scenes push by power brokers inside MSNBC.
On the morning of the telethon, MSNBC executives woke up planning to stick with the network’s usual programming. As the day progressed, according to multiple sources, a vocal group inside the network began lobbying MSNBC president Phil Griffin to turn over the MSNBC airtime to the worthwhile cause.
One of the Newtonian laws of television journalism is that anchors never willingly preempt their own airtime. But according to sources, it was Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow who led the charge, despite the fact that the event with Mr. Cooper and company would push them out of prime time.
Mr. Griffin soon agreed to put on the telethon. However, there was one problem. MSNBC didn’t have the rights to air it. In the subsequent scramble to secure the rights from MTV Networks, which was coordinating the production of the event, Mr. Griffin picked up the phone to enlist the help of a longtime acquaintance with some sway in the telethon—Anderson Cooper’s boss, Jim Walton, with whom Mr. Griffin had worked in the early, primordial days of CNN.
In the end, while Fox News stuck with its original programming and remained a no-Coop zone, MSNBC joined CNN in successfully airing the telethon. All told, the benefit raised an estimated $61 million.
Hero Aaron
Anderson Cooper Helps Aaron Jackson Help Haiti
By Michael J. Mooney in Broward, Jan. 27 2010 @ 9:00AM
When the earthquake first hit, Aaron Jackson immediately announced that his charity, Planting Peace, would help as many Haitians as possible with food, water, medicine, and shelter. Within days, Aaron was on the ground in Port-au-Prince, literally.While down there, his story made the front page of the New York Times. I spoke with him as soon as he got back to Florida, and he told me about how he helped the people of Haiti and how Anderson Cooper helped him.
Aaron flew down with another Planting Peace board member on a private jet rented by the Voice Homeless Shelter in Hollywood. Aaron wanted to bring money to his orphanages and check on the 37 children, who all survived the initial quake unharmed.
His first night there, he decided it wouldn't be safe to show up at the orphanage. "It would look like a big aid drop," Aaron told me. "That just wouldn't be safe for the kids."
He went to a hotel where he thought he had reservations only to learn that the hotel had lost all outside communications and had canceled all reservations. "That night, we literally slept on the street in Port-au-Prince. Right on the ground."
The next day, at another hotel that didn't have any vacancies, Aaron saw an old friend. "Right as I was leaving, I saw Anderson Cooper. He was like, 'Aaron, what's going on, man?'" Aaron was one of the original CNN Heroes and has met Cooper several times. Aaron explained the reservation situation, and in a matter of minutes, the CNN anchor arranged for Aaron and his friend to have one of the CNN rooms.
That day, Aaron was able to go to a market that had just reopened, purchase large bags of rice and beans and cornmeal, and deliver them to his children. He also delivered a large amount of cash.
"One of the biggest problems is getting money down there," Aaron says. "One of the reasons I needed to go down there was to literally mule cash. The banks are no more. You can't exactly Western Union money down there."
They had enough food and money to feed several other orphanages in the neighborhood too.
"We plan ahead anyway," Aaron explained. "We keep a big stockpile there. It's Haiti. Crazy things can happen at any time. We were ready in that way."
One of the things Aaron is dealing with now that he's back, he says, is the massive number of adoption requests he's getting. Especially after the Times story, he says, he gets ten to 15 emails a day from people looking to adopt orphaned children from the troubled island nation.
Meanwhile, Planting Peace continues raising funds for the work ahead. Actor Rainn Wilson, another friend of Aaron's, has promised an autographed photo to anyone who donates at least $100. Wilson is also auctioning a custom backpack signed by the cast of The Office. Wilson's comments on the item up for bid:
- "This is a 22-inch American Tourister rolling red suitcase. It is embroidered with the infamous misspelling "DUNDER MUFFIN." Rainn says, "Less than 200 of these were given out by me, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer at the end of Season 3 as a thank you to the crew. There's only a handful of these puppies still around. Great for transporting drugs. Will be signed by the whole cast."
We'll continue checking in with Aaron, even after much of the other media has gone back to forgetting about Haiti.
The Millionaire Reporter
Another Colombian article from a different magazine than the article a few posts down; this time Anderson is called "el reportero de televisión más famoso del mundo," the most famous TV journalist in the world, which we all know is true; but it felt great to have heard it from somebody from a different country. And by the unique visitors' counter that I have on the sidebar of this blog, there are readers from as many as 150 countries... and counting.
El periodista millonario
PERFIL Anderson Cooper no sólo es el reportero de televisión más famoso del mundo, es también uno de los herederos de la inmensa fortuna de la dinastía Vanderbilt.
Sábado 23 Enero 2010
[PROFIL Anderson Cooper is not only the most famous television journalist in the world, he is also the heir to the immense fortune of the Vanderbilt family. Saturday, January 23, 2010]
Gracias a la televisión, el mundo entero ha seguido paso a paso la tragedia de Haití. Y entre los reporteros que han llegado a ese país caribe, donde los muertos son ya más de 80.000, se destaca uno que se ha convertido en el periodista estrella en este tipo de dramas: Anderson Cooper.
Con ojos muy azules, pinta juvenil, pelo corto y una cabeza plateada por las canas, su programa, Anderson Cooper 360, es el que le lleva más información a millones y millones de televidentes en todo el planeta. ¿Quién es este hombre que a los 42 años se ha convertido en la estrella del periodismo mundial en televisión? ¿Cuál es su historia dentro del reporterismo y la de su familia materna, los Vanderbilt, dueña de una de las fortunas más tradicionales de Estados Unidos?
Anderson Cooper se interesó por los medios de comunicación a raíz de dos episodios que vivió en su juventud. El primero tuvo lugar en un viaje que su colegio organizó cuando él tenía 17 años a África, en donde contrajo la malaria. El segundo fue el suicidio de su único hermano, mayor que él, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, que en 1988 se lanzó al vacío desde el piso 14 de un penthouse. "Eso me puso a pensar mucho en las situaciones difíciles de la vida", escribió luego Anderson.
Con el diploma de bachiller bajo el brazo, Cooper se matriculó en la prestigiosa Universidad de Yale y después pidió un trabajo en el canal de televisión ABC. No tuvo suerte. Por eso tomó la determinación de irse un año a la Universidad de Hanoi para aprender la lengua vietnamita, un viaje para el que empacó una pequeña cámara con la que envió una serie de informes al Canal Uno, especializado en noticias para jóvenes.
Más adelante cubrió aspectos del genocidio de Ruanda. Y ahí dio en el clavo: en 1995 la ABC le firmó un contrato para ser uno de los presentadores de World News Now, de donde pasó a presentar un reality show titulado The Mole.
Pero eso no era lo suyo y como las noticias lo atraían más, aceptó en 2001 una oferta de la CNN para aparecer ante las cámaras en un programa matinal junto a la periodista Paula Zahn, por lo cual le hicieron otra propuesta dos años más tarde: montar su propio espacio. Y fue entonces cuando pisó aún más fuerte con la cobertura no sólo del tsunami, el 26 de diciembre de 2004, sino de la muerte de Juan Pablo II en abril de 2005, y el desastre del huracán Katrina, en Nueva Orleáns, cuatro meses después.
Semejante trabajo disparó a los cielos la audiencia de CNN en el nivel mundial, por lo que en noviembre el presidente de la cadena, Jonathan Klein, cambió para las 10 de la noche el comienzo del programa y le dedicó dos horas diarias. Aunque no se sabe cuánto gana Cooper, la prensa gringa asegura que recibe más de 300.000 dólares mensuales.
Pero hay varias preguntas que se hace la gente en Estados Unidos sobre este 'león de plata' de la CNN. ¿Cómo llega tan pronto al lugar de la noticia? Fácil: en jet privado. Y ¿tiene novia, o es gay? Nadie lo sabe. Algunas revistas gay afirman que es homosexual y le atribuyen compañeros sentimentales. La cosa es tan misteriosa como la homosexualidad de Miguel Bosé y él se niega a hablar en público del asunto. Ni siquiera alude al tema en sus memorias, Dispatches from the Edge (Despachos desde el borde), publicadas en mayo de 2006.
Lo cierto es que Cooper es el reportero de televisión más famoso del mundo. Ha superado a Christiane Amanpour, también de la CNN, y a John Simpson, de la BBC. Además, viaja mucho. En su blog incluso ha escrito desde Bogotá.
Si su historia personal es llamativa, su historia familiar es curiosa. Cooper es hijo de una pareja muy conocida en Estados Unidos. Su padre era el escritor Wyatt Emory Cooper, que murió en 1978, a los 50 años de edad, mientras se sometía a una cirugía de corazón abierto tras haber sufrido numerosos infartos. En aquel entonces Anderson era un niño de 10 años que hoy dice admirar profundamente la obra de su padre, en especial el libro titulado Families (Familias).
Su madre ha sido aún más célebre. Se trata de Gloria Vanderbilt, famosa por su carrera como actriz y diseñadora. Nadie olvida su línea de bluyines elegantes que llevaban su nombre como firma en los años 70. Pero ella, que el próximo 20 de febrero cumple 85 años muy bien llevados, ha dado mucho de qué hablar por sus romances. Se ha casado en cuatro ocasiones, la primera de ellas cuando apenas tenía 17 años. Su marido fue un agente de cine, Pat DeCicco, al que reemplazó en 1945 por el célebre director de orquesta Leopold Stokowski, con quien tuvo dos hijos: Leopold y Christopher. El director de cine Sidney Lumet fue su tercer esposo hasta agosto de 1963 y luego vino Wyatt Emory Cooper, con quien contrajo nupcias en diciembre del mismo año.
Gloria Vanderbilt es heredera de una de las fortunas más grandes de Estados Unidos. Hija de Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, un hombre que murió de cirrosis cuando ella era una niña de brazos, y tataranieta de Cornelius Vanderbilt, que construyó una fortuna impresionante en el siglo XIX. El viejo, mejor conocido como el 'Comodoro', provenía de una familia holandesa que había llegado de Utrecht a Nueva York de la mano del primero de la saga, cinco generaciones atrás: Jan Aertson de Aertzoon.
El caso es que Cornelius, que había nacido en 1794, decidió con apenas 11 años que quería ser un potentado y con esa "habilidad impresionante para hacer plata", que según el Nobel de Economía John Kenneth Galbraith tenían los Vanderbilt, terminó convertido en un zar del transporte marítimo. Poco después, extendió sus tentáculos a la industria de los ferrocarriles. Se hizo dueño de varias líneas en California y de otras más que partían o llegaban a Nueva York. Fue allí donde construyó lo que fue Grand Central Terminal, una estación situada en Park Avenue con la calle 42, cuyo edificio, en el costado sur, deja ver la estatua del 'Comodoro'.
El viejo Vanderbilt hizo muchas cosas más. Levantó y compró distintas casas en lo que se llama Midtown Manhattan, al norte de la estación, y pagó una millonada para edificar The Breakers, una mansión de película a la orilla del mar en Newport, en el norteño estado de Rhode Island, donde los multimillonarios de Nueva York iban a pasar seis semanas para huir del verano neoyorquino. En The Breakers hay salones enteros de mármol traído de Europa. No tiene nada que envidiarle a una casa ducal en Italia o a un palacete real en los campos de Francia.
No hay duda de que la fortuna de los Vanderbilt, heredada en parte por Anderson Cooper, le ha servido como herramienta para ser el reportero más famoso de hoy. Pero hay que reconocer que eso no habría sido suficiente si Cooper no tuviera el talento y la astucia que lo caracterizan.
El periodista millonario
PERFIL Anderson Cooper no sólo es el reportero de televisión más famoso del mundo, es también uno de los herederos de la inmensa fortuna de la dinastía Vanderbilt.Sábado 23 Enero 2010
[PROFIL Anderson Cooper is not only the most famous television journalist in the world, he is also the heir to the immense fortune of the Vanderbilt family. Saturday, January 23, 2010]
Gracias a la televisión, el mundo entero ha seguido paso a paso la tragedia de Haití. Y entre los reporteros que han llegado a ese país caribe, donde los muertos son ya más de 80.000, se destaca uno que se ha convertido en el periodista estrella en este tipo de dramas: Anderson Cooper.
Con ojos muy azules, pinta juvenil, pelo corto y una cabeza plateada por las canas, su programa, Anderson Cooper 360, es el que le lleva más información a millones y millones de televidentes en todo el planeta. ¿Quién es este hombre que a los 42 años se ha convertido en la estrella del periodismo mundial en televisión? ¿Cuál es su historia dentro del reporterismo y la de su familia materna, los Vanderbilt, dueña de una de las fortunas más tradicionales de Estados Unidos?
Anderson Cooper se interesó por los medios de comunicación a raíz de dos episodios que vivió en su juventud. El primero tuvo lugar en un viaje que su colegio organizó cuando él tenía 17 años a África, en donde contrajo la malaria. El segundo fue el suicidio de su único hermano, mayor que él, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, que en 1988 se lanzó al vacío desde el piso 14 de un penthouse. "Eso me puso a pensar mucho en las situaciones difíciles de la vida", escribió luego Anderson.
Con el diploma de bachiller bajo el brazo, Cooper se matriculó en la prestigiosa Universidad de Yale y después pidió un trabajo en el canal de televisión ABC. No tuvo suerte. Por eso tomó la determinación de irse un año a la Universidad de Hanoi para aprender la lengua vietnamita, un viaje para el que empacó una pequeña cámara con la que envió una serie de informes al Canal Uno, especializado en noticias para jóvenes.
Más adelante cubrió aspectos del genocidio de Ruanda. Y ahí dio en el clavo: en 1995 la ABC le firmó un contrato para ser uno de los presentadores de World News Now, de donde pasó a presentar un reality show titulado The Mole.
Pero eso no era lo suyo y como las noticias lo atraían más, aceptó en 2001 una oferta de la CNN para aparecer ante las cámaras en un programa matinal junto a la periodista Paula Zahn, por lo cual le hicieron otra propuesta dos años más tarde: montar su propio espacio. Y fue entonces cuando pisó aún más fuerte con la cobertura no sólo del tsunami, el 26 de diciembre de 2004, sino de la muerte de Juan Pablo II en abril de 2005, y el desastre del huracán Katrina, en Nueva Orleáns, cuatro meses después.
Semejante trabajo disparó a los cielos la audiencia de CNN en el nivel mundial, por lo que en noviembre el presidente de la cadena, Jonathan Klein, cambió para las 10 de la noche el comienzo del programa y le dedicó dos horas diarias. Aunque no se sabe cuánto gana Cooper, la prensa gringa asegura que recibe más de 300.000 dólares mensuales.
Pero hay varias preguntas que se hace la gente en Estados Unidos sobre este 'león de plata' de la CNN. ¿Cómo llega tan pronto al lugar de la noticia? Fácil: en jet privado. Y ¿tiene novia, o es gay? Nadie lo sabe. Algunas revistas gay afirman que es homosexual y le atribuyen compañeros sentimentales. La cosa es tan misteriosa como la homosexualidad de Miguel Bosé y él se niega a hablar en público del asunto. Ni siquiera alude al tema en sus memorias, Dispatches from the Edge (Despachos desde el borde), publicadas en mayo de 2006.
Lo cierto es que Cooper es el reportero de televisión más famoso del mundo. Ha superado a Christiane Amanpour, también de la CNN, y a John Simpson, de la BBC. Además, viaja mucho. En su blog incluso ha escrito desde Bogotá.
Si su historia personal es llamativa, su historia familiar es curiosa. Cooper es hijo de una pareja muy conocida en Estados Unidos. Su padre era el escritor Wyatt Emory Cooper, que murió en 1978, a los 50 años de edad, mientras se sometía a una cirugía de corazón abierto tras haber sufrido numerosos infartos. En aquel entonces Anderson era un niño de 10 años que hoy dice admirar profundamente la obra de su padre, en especial el libro titulado Families (Familias).
Su madre ha sido aún más célebre. Se trata de Gloria Vanderbilt, famosa por su carrera como actriz y diseñadora. Nadie olvida su línea de bluyines elegantes que llevaban su nombre como firma en los años 70. Pero ella, que el próximo 20 de febrero cumple 85 años muy bien llevados, ha dado mucho de qué hablar por sus romances. Se ha casado en cuatro ocasiones, la primera de ellas cuando apenas tenía 17 años. Su marido fue un agente de cine, Pat DeCicco, al que reemplazó en 1945 por el célebre director de orquesta Leopold Stokowski, con quien tuvo dos hijos: Leopold y Christopher. El director de cine Sidney Lumet fue su tercer esposo hasta agosto de 1963 y luego vino Wyatt Emory Cooper, con quien contrajo nupcias en diciembre del mismo año.
Gloria Vanderbilt es heredera de una de las fortunas más grandes de Estados Unidos. Hija de Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, un hombre que murió de cirrosis cuando ella era una niña de brazos, y tataranieta de Cornelius Vanderbilt, que construyó una fortuna impresionante en el siglo XIX. El viejo, mejor conocido como el 'Comodoro', provenía de una familia holandesa que había llegado de Utrecht a Nueva York de la mano del primero de la saga, cinco generaciones atrás: Jan Aertson de Aertzoon.
El caso es que Cornelius, que había nacido en 1794, decidió con apenas 11 años que quería ser un potentado y con esa "habilidad impresionante para hacer plata", que según el Nobel de Economía John Kenneth Galbraith tenían los Vanderbilt, terminó convertido en un zar del transporte marítimo. Poco después, extendió sus tentáculos a la industria de los ferrocarriles. Se hizo dueño de varias líneas en California y de otras más que partían o llegaban a Nueva York. Fue allí donde construyó lo que fue Grand Central Terminal, una estación situada en Park Avenue con la calle 42, cuyo edificio, en el costado sur, deja ver la estatua del 'Comodoro'.
El viejo Vanderbilt hizo muchas cosas más. Levantó y compró distintas casas en lo que se llama Midtown Manhattan, al norte de la estación, y pagó una millonada para edificar The Breakers, una mansión de película a la orilla del mar en Newport, en el norteño estado de Rhode Island, donde los multimillonarios de Nueva York iban a pasar seis semanas para huir del verano neoyorquino. En The Breakers hay salones enteros de mármol traído de Europa. No tiene nada que envidiarle a una casa ducal en Italia o a un palacete real en los campos de Francia.
No hay duda de que la fortuna de los Vanderbilt, heredada en parte por Anderson Cooper, le ha servido como herramienta para ser el reportero más famoso de hoy. Pero hay que reconocer que eso no habría sido suficiente si Cooper no tuviera el talento y la astucia que lo caracterizan.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
State Of The Union from Haiti
CNN's State Of The Union Coverage
CNN's Coverage Of President’s State of the Union Address And GOP ResponseCNN anchors Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper and John King will lead the network’s live, comprehensive coverage of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. ET. Before the president takes the podium, Blitzer and Brown will preview the president’s remarks with members of the Best Political Team on Television. After Pres. Obama’s address, coverage will continue with the Republican response from Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA), followed by analysis and opinions from across the ideological spectrum. Cooper will continue to report live from Haiti throughout the evening, and host Anderson Cooper 360º at 11p ET. A special live Larry King Live will follow at midnight ET. CNN International will simulcast CNN/US from 8p to midnight ET.
Anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien will showcase official polling data throughout the evening. CNN also will gauge audience reaction by assembling a live, scientifically-chosen focus group, as the network did during the Presidential Commission Debates in the 2008 election. CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin will moderate the group of participants in Ohio, who will react to the speech using standard dial testers.
CNN.com’s special coverage for the State of the Union address can be found at www.CNN.com/SPECIALS/2010/state.of.the.union. Additionally, the President’s address will be streamed live on CNN.com and via the CNN App for the iPhone and iPod Touch. CNN iReport, the network’s user-generated news community, is asking iReporters to engage by submitting their own 60-second state of the union address at http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=398814.
"Still In Haiti"
Mediaite Speaks With Anderson Cooper: “The Rest Of The World Feels Extraordinarily Far Away”
by Steve Krakauer | 2:43 pm, January 26th, 2010
CNN has covered the Haiti story far more than any other cable news network – last week it was four times as much as Fox News or MSNBC.And it continues this week, with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper remaining the most high profile correspondent still reporting on the ground (he’s there all week, and has been since January 13). Mediaite spoke to Cooper today (instead of “Back From Haiti” it’s “Still In Haiti”) while he traveled from “mass graves” to the Hotel Montana, where people are “digging for Americans foreign nationals.”
Mediaite: While other correspondents and anchors return to the United States, you are staying this week as well. What made you decide to stay an extra week?
Cooper: I just didn’t feel it was right to leave. I was just worried that if everyone leaves, then there’s going to be less focus on it. There are still a lot important things going on here. On a personal level, I just wanted to stay and continue covering the story. I talked to Sanjay [Gupta] and he felt the same way.
Mediaite: CNN has covered this story more than any other cable network. Why do you think it is important for CNN to stick with the story?Cooper: It is hard to get sense of what others are doing. I just think this is a very important story. Obviously Haiti has a lot of connections with us, families have connections here. This is huge catastrophe, and Haiti as a country doesn’t receive enough coverage even in good times. It seems like the right place to be. Important things are happening in other places, in the political world. But it just felt like the least I could do is stay for another week.
Mediaite: I watched some of your show last night, and you covered other news as well – Scott Brown, the State of the Union. How are you able to anchor from Haiti and talk about other stories?
Cooper: It’s strange to talk about other topics – it feels strange when you’re here. The rest of the world seems extraordinarily far away. Obviously what’s happening here is life and death, and you’re confronted with that on an hourly basis. But there are other things people are interested in, other important things happening. We try to strike balance between where you are and other things.
Mediaite: Some critics have said reporters and TV doctors are getting too close to the story in Haiti. How do you respond to that?Cooper: I haven’t seen what other people are doing. I’m not a TV doctor, and it has got to be strange position. On one hand, they have medical expertise and can save lives. If you’re in a position to save someone’s life and help someone, I don’t think it’s a big conflict, as long as you’re open about what you’ve done…I don’t think CNN is promoting it in a way that is inappropriate or over-promoting it. I was involved in it, we were very careful how we discussed it. It got more coverage elsewhere than it did on CNN.
Mediaite: What have you found is the most difficult to convey in your reporting?
Cooper: I’m not sure it’s difficult, but what we’re trying to convey is what it’s like being here, what’s actually hapepning. I try to take somebody who is in their living room or the gym, and for a few moments transport them to the streets of Port-au-Prince, or transport them to someone else’s shoes. Someone who is dealing with the immediate effects of the quake, or the aftermath of the quake – to walk in their shoes.
Mediaite: Is there an image, or a moment that you will take away personally? I know for some here it will undoubtedly be you carrying the bleeding child to safety.
Cooper: That was certainly a very intense experience. And I’ve been in situations like that before, but this is the first time I actually intervened in such direct way. It was a spur-the-moment decision, and I still think it was the right decision. The little boy had a bad head wound and couldn’t get up, and I felt he was in great harm. Anybody would have done same thing if they were in that position. To me, what really stands out in my mind has nothing to do with the coverage. It’s just seeing people, talking to people, who are digging through rubble with their own hands, trying to find loved ones or even complete strangers. That’s what I see when I close my eyes at night.
Mediaite: So your plan now is to come back at the end of the week?
Cooper: Honestly, I don’t know. We’re taking it day-by-day. We’re definitely staying through this week and then we’ll re-assess. My team is working around the clock, and we’re all getting sick in one way or another.
A report yesterday from Cooper:
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