CBS Proclaims CNN's Anderson Cooper 'Popular' And 'A Household Name'

May 25th, 2006 4:11 PM

Hannah Storm, co-host of CBS’s "The Early Show," interviewed CNN’s Anderson Cooper, anchor of "Anderson Cooper 360" about his new memoir. Storm was gushing over Cooper, referring to him as "one of the brightest stars in the news business" and as the "popular CNN anchorman," as she introduced him:

"Anderson Cooper is one of the brightest stars in the news business. The popular CNN anchorman became a household name after his reporting on Hurricane Katrina. But, this is certainly not the first time the seasoned journalist has come face to face with death and disaster. For years, Cooper's been covering war and poverty in countries that often get little attention here at home. And, he writes about both his personal and professional experiences in his new memoir, ‘Dispatches from the Edge.’"

But how much of her praise is accurate? Is Cooper really popular? Ratings suggest he is even less popular than his predecessor, Aaron Brown. And while it is true that Cooper reported from New Orleans on hurricane Katrina, it is also true he, and the rest of the media, missed many aspects of the story. Yet Ms. Storm never asks him about that. Considering the facts the media missed on Katrina, and the fact that Cooper was on "Oprah" playing the race card in regards to the rescue and relief effort, wouldn’t Storm want to inquire about it since, as she put it, his reporting on hurricane Katrina made him a household name?

It could be that Hannah Storm feels she needs to hype the reputation of the CNN anchor considering, as she noted, Cooper has signed on to report stories for the CBS magazine show, "60 Minutes."