Dispatches from the Edge

Anderson Hays Cooper was born on June 3, 1967 in New York City. He is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360° and a major correspondent for 60 minutes. Cooper attended Yale University and graduated with a B. A. in political science in 1989. He later decided to pursue a career in journalism.

He began his news career as a fact checker at Channel One but soon worked his way up to reporter by selling his home-made news segments. In 1995, Cooper became a correspondent for ABC News, eventually rising to the position of co-anchor on its overnight World News Now program on September 21, 1999. In 2000 he switched career paths, taking a job as the host of ABC's reality show The Mole. Cooper left The Mole after its second season to return to broadcast news. In 2001, he joined CNN. His first position at CNN was to anchor alongside Paula Zahn on American Morning. In 2002, he became CNN's weekend prime-time anchor. On September 8, 2003, he was made anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°.

He has earned several Emmy Awards and a National Headliner Award for his news reporting.

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