The Houston Chronicle has a Q&A with Anderson Cooper:

Q: What advantage do you have by being over there yourself? ABC’s Charles Gibson and NBC’s Brian Williams left after a week. Fox News anchor Shepard Smith left the scene last Friday.

A: I’ve always been a big believer in going to the front lines of a story. It informs your storytelling and your perspective. Being in Beirut and going to Hezbollah territory and trying to talk to them, to see how they try and manage things and what they’re trying to spin. To go out with an Israeli army unit and see their perspective, it can’t help but make you a better reporter.

Cooper says he wants to be back in the states by the end of the month, to cover the Katrina anniversary. “I think Brian Williams and I are two people trying to keep that story alive,” he says…