Top 10 Anderson Cooper Moments

After interning at the CIA, and studying in Vietnam, Anderson Cooper decided to pursue a career for himself reporting the news, despite having no formal journalistic training. Following his graduation from Yale, he got a job as a fact checker for Channel One News, but was pigeonholed and unable to rise up into a reporting job. Cooper then took matters into his own hands, forging a press pass to sneak into Myanmar and report on the students’ fight against the government. He was then able to sell these homemade reports back to Channel One, effectively kickstarting his career with this brave and risky move.

A monumental two part miniseries that aired on CNN, “Planet in Peril” was a documentary created by Cooper with longtime collaborator Dr. Sanjay Gupta, biologist Jeff Gorwin and Lisa Ling of National Geographic. The ambitious series covered the state of the world, and the many threats facing it and its people, including climate change, overpopulation, species loss, and deforestation. The documentary showed how the dangers to the environment were already taking effect, traveling to places like the Amazon to show the vast deforestation there, and the oil conflict in the Niger River Delta.

When POTUS Donald Trump sent out the bizarre tweet “Despite the constant negative press covfefe” late at night and quickly deleted it in the morning, the world was left wondering (and laughing). Was “covfefe” a mysterious secret code, tweeted to everyone and known only to a certain few, or could it be perhaps that Trump fell asleep on his phone? The internet of course had a field day with the newly invented word, coming up with a storm of jokes and tongue in cheek explanations for “covfefe”. In a brilliant fake serious tone, Cooper read off many of the most hilarious responses in one of his most memorable “The Ridiculist” segements.

Less than a month after Obama took office in 2009, he granted an interview to Anderson Cooper inside the Oval Office, and this was one of Obama’s first interviews as a sitting president. Not shying away from hard-hitting questions, Cooper asked Obama about tough issues, including the controversy surrounding Tom Daschle, a senator policy advisor, who Obama had nominated for health and human services secretary. Despite the curveballs, the pair were respectful towards each other throughout the interview, while providing a glimpse into the president’s plans and motivations going forward.

Despite being one of the most talented reporters out there, Cooper certainly has a jovial side as well, as he has demonstrated a number of times during more lighthearted or comical segments. In fact, when a story is particularly ridiculous he might even fall into a fit of the giggles, with the best example of this being his coverage of how French actor Gerard Depardieu relieved himself while on an airplane. Rattling off a storm of toilet humor-related puns, like “It’s a good thing it wasn’t Gerard departwo,” Cooper cracked up in hysterical laughter, his boyish charm and good nature on full display.

On a much more serious note, Cooper has never shied away from reporting from dangerous and volatile situations, and his reporting from the Gaza as violence escalated between the Israelis and Palestinians in 2012 showed just how dangerous an environment he was willing to work in. As he was reporting live from the scene, an explosion just a few miles away rocked Cooper and his crew. The journalist ducked, assessed the situation, and then went on with the newscast, keeping his composure throughout. While many other newscasters would have fled, or likely not have even been so close to danger in the first place, Cooper stood his ground, shaken, but never faltering.

When it comes to holding public figures accountable, Cooper has always been one of the more dedicated news-people, frequently calling out guests he feels have twisted the truth or straight up lied. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the fact-adjusting spin machine, and former Donald Trump campaign manager became a person he consistently clashed with during and following the 2016 presidential campaign. Conway’s antics became so comical that Cooper actually let his professionalism slip and rolled his eyes at her. Their dynamic became so noteworthy that Saturday Night Live even parodied her and Cooper’s interactions with a skit where Conway took on the role of Pennywise from “It.”

Speculation about Cooper’s sexuality had been swirling for years, and while he had been out to his friends and family for decades, he had decided to keep his private life out of the public realm. Citing that he should report the news and not be the news, he refused to publicly confirm whether he was straight or gay for years. Eventually, however, Cooper acknowledged his sexuality publically, by way of an email to a friend who’s also a writer and editor, in which he said he didn’t want the public to feel he was ashamed of his sexuality. Cooper’s decision has inspired countless people to be accepting of themselves and others.

In yet another example of Cooper putting himself right in the middle of a dangerous situation while reporting, he was in Haiti during the violent riots that arose in the aftermath of the earthquake that rocked the island nation. In the chaos, Cooper came across a boy who had been struck in the head by passing looters, badly bleeding and clearly concussed and disoriented. Noticing he was too out of it to walk, Cooper heroically grabbed the boy and literally carried him to safety as he passed the inujured youngster over a barricade.





Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:



Kicks “Human Barbie” Mom Sarah Burge Off of “Anderson Live”



Interview on “Late Show with Stephen Colbert”

Some of the reasons Cooper has become one of the most respected and recognized news-people in the country include; his dedication, honesty, and, most of all, his passion. His emotional coverage of the tragic domestic terrorist attack at Pulse, a gay Orlando Nightclub, which claimed almost fifty lives and injured dozens more, had all of those qualities on display. His tear-filled coverage of the shooting’s aftermath, and his decision to not read the shooter’s name and instead give a touching tribute to those whose lives were lost earned praise from his peers and the public. The coverage has been named by many as what journalism should be.