Anderson Cooper says farewell to 60 Minutes after two decades

Anderson Cooper closed out two decades at 60 Minutes with a farewell that marked more than one correspondent’s exit. It signaled a shift for one of television news’s most influential franchises, a program that built its reputation on authority, long-form reported storytelling and star correspondents who carried the show’s voice into living rooms across the country.

CBS News said Cooper spent more than 20 years traveling the world for 60 Minutes, chasing stories that aimed to reveal the humanity behind the headlines. In his farewell, he reflected on the awe of joining a program he had admired since childhood and on walking the same halls as Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley and Bob Simon, four names that helped define the show’s peak as an institution of television journalism.

Cooper first joined 60 Minutes in the 2006-2007 season through an arrangement between CBS News and CNN. The 2025-26 season was his 20th on the program, even as he remained a full-time CNN employee. CBS News said he would still have multiple stories in production before the season ended in May 2026, and the network said the show would welcome him back if he ever wanted to return.

His departure also underscored how much harder it has become to sustain the kind of broad cultural authority 60 Minutes once commanded. Cooper’s work on the program ranged from far-flung reporting to consequential investigations and interviews with major political figures. That model depended on time, trust and a mass audience willing to sit with an extended reported story, all of which have been strained by the fragmentation of viewing habits and the erosion of confidence in major institutions.

Cooper said he was leaving to spend more time with his children, a personal reason that also lands as part of a larger generational handoff. His farewell arrives after a turbulent stretch for 60 Minutes and Paramount, including the resignation of executive producer Bill Owens last spring and Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a lawsuit tied to the program’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.

For 60 Minutes, the challenge now is not only replacing a familiar correspondent. It is preserving the mix of independence, reporting muscle and recognizable on-air personalities that made the show feel essential for decades. Cooper’s exit leaves behind a body of work, but it also closes another chapter in the era when legacy TV journalism could still command national attention simply by putting a trusted reporter at the center of the story.