Anderson Cooper bid farewell to CBS News‘ 60 Minutes on Sunday night after 20 years on the newsmagazine by praising the show’s “independence” and “trust it has with viewers.”
“I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes,” he said in an interview on 60 Minutes Overtime. “There’s very few things that have been around for as long as 60 Minutes has and maintain the quality that it has, and things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome, and things should evolve and change, but I hope the core of what 60 Minutes is always remains.”
60 Minutes has been making headlines recently under its new ownership of David Ellison and Ellison’s hiring of CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. In December, Weiss pulled a segment on the “brutal and torturous conditions” at the El Salvador prison where the Trump Administration sent deportees. An official statement said the story “needed additional reporting.”
60 Minutes has also faced criticism for reportedly sidelining legendary correspondent Lesley Stahl and drafting in Major Garrett to interview Benjamin Netanyahu, after negotiations between Weiss and the Israeli prime minister.
And President Trump won a victory after suing the company over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The lawsuit resulted in parent company Paramount Global settling in a $16 million payout. Part of the settlement agreement included stipulations for Paramount to release 60 Minutes transcripts of interviews with presidential candidates post-air.
