Anderson Cooper: Posterboy of a Relentless CNN
Yesterday I noticed another Anderson Cooper feature taking pride of place on CNN: a reprint of his June/July 2004 Details article about being on Celebrity Jeopardy. This had not whisked off the homepage; it was instead accompanied by an appropriately-dimpled smiling photo (unlike the strong-jawed serious one that had accompanied the earlier story).
So, clearly CNN is pushing Anderson Cooper; I have seen no Aaron Brown-penned articles or, mercifully, none by Larry King. Not that I don’t love Anderson; you readers know that I’m a fan, and I really enjoyed the “Jeopardy!” piece; boy can write. But might it be a bit too much?
The San Francisco Chronicle thinks so – whew, does it ever. It thinks the AndyCoop “cult of personality” must end, and wants the Boy Wonder to get a grip – it’s not all about you. Writer Tim Goodman is tired of seeing him fiddle with his laptop on “Newsnight” and actually is tired of seeing him on “Newsnight” at all: “Cooper already has his show. He should stay on it.” Goodman is grumpy on Aaron Brown’s behalf, and annoyed that the juxtapositon of Anderson as laptop-wielding super-wired plugged-in newsguy casts the anchor-desk-dwelling coffee-sipping mild-mannered Brown as the old fuddy-duddy (aw! Aaron! We don’t think that about you!). Goodman doesn’t want to hear that Anderson’s got friends who are meth heads (“how very Boho of you, Anderson”), doesn’t need forced banter, and wants the “news” put back into “Newsnight.” What are you getting at here, Goodman? Don’t beat around the bush!
Anyhow, he definitely has a point: as usual, it sounds like subtlety has been lost on Jon Klein and the zealous push for all-Anderson all the time is underway. Too much of a good thing? If even I’m adding that question mark, CNN better think again.
UPDATE: A reader alerts us to this money quote from last week’s Anderson-linked column on CNN: “Going gray is like ejaculation. You know it can happen prematurely, but when it actually does, it’s a total shock.” There are some things we don’t need to know about our trusted anchormen.
Sure, Anderson Cooper is cute and young, but get a grip, CNN [SF Chron]
Confessions of a ‘Jeopardy!’ champion [CNN]
Earlier:
A bold story on CNN, whisked quickly off the homepage [FishbowlNY]
“I’ll take Anderson Cooper in the rain for $500, Alex!” [FishbowlNY]
Related:
I Lost On Jeopardy [Weird Al Yankovic]*
*Weird Al Yankovic, like Alex Trebek, is Canadian.
**An observation: the maniacal enthusiasm and quasi-obsessive drive that Anderson brings to his Jeopardy! game is not an inappropriate metaphor for the way they’re pushing him on CNN right now. I’m just sayin’.
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online 
FishbowlNY Twitter feed loading...
