‘Loved it, but it was tough’: Host Anderson Cooper exits CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ after two decades

WASHINGTON, DC: After 20 years of juggling two of television news’ biggest jobs, Anderson Cooper officially signed off from '60 Minutes' on May 17.

Cooper, who announced back in February that he would not renew his contract with the CBS staple, reflected on leaving a show he grew up watching while continuing his full-time role at CNN.

“I don’t think the reality has hit me that I’m not going to be doing this any longer, you know to give up something you’ve watched since you were a kid,” Cooper said in a segment posted to '60 Minutes Overtime.' “Yeah, I will miss this.”

The veteran anchor joined the program during the 2006-07 season through a rare arrangement between CBS News and CNN, allowing him to report for both networks at the same time.

“The whole time I’ve done pieces on ’60 Minutes,’ my full-time job has been over at CNN, and still is,” Cooper told '60 Minutes Overtime.'

“It’s been really challenging to do the kind of work you need to do to have a great ’60 Minutes’ piece. CNN doesn’t like it if I take a lot of time off to work on a ’60 Minutes’ piece, so I’ve worked mostly for ’60 Minutes’ on weekends. My vacation time at CNN has been working on ’60 Minutes’ pieces. I’ve loved it, but it’s been tough.”

Anderson Cooper praises ‘60 Minutes’ editorial independence

Cooper made it clear he hopes the DNA of “60 Minutes” stays intact, especially at a time when CBS News is undergoing major internal changes tied to editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and the Paramount-Skydance ownership transition.

“I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes,” Cooper said. “There’s very few things that have been around as long as 60 Minutes has and maintained 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.”

Cooper repeatedly pointed to the show’s editorial backbone and the credibility it has built with viewers over decades.

“I think the independence of 60 Minutes has been incredible. I think also the variety of stories. And I think the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of 60 Minutes,” he said.

He stressed that the kind of journalism “60 Minutes” is known for takes more than just a camera crew and a quick turnaround.

“I think the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of ’60 Minutes.’ When you see a ’60 Minutes’ story, and you’re like, ‘That was a really good story.’ It was a good story because it requires time, it requires patience, it requires money,” he said. “I hope that’s known and honored and valued and continues.”

Anderson Cooper cites family time for ‘60 Minutes’ exit

While speculation has swirled that the changing climate at CBS News may have factored into Cooper’s exit, the anchor himself has consistently said he wants to spend more time with his two young children, ages 4 and 6, while they still enjoy spending time with him.

“I want to spend as much time with them as I can, while they still want to spend time with me,” Cooper said. “And these days that clock is ticking.”

Still, Cooper sounded hopeful that '60 Minutes' will outlive every media shakeup thrown its way.

“I hope ’60 Minutes’ is around for when my kids grow up and have kids of their own, and they can watch it with their kids,” he said.