“Thanks, Aaron.”

During Monday’s 360, Anderson Cooper paid tribute to NewsNight with Aaron Brown.

He said the program would have been four years old this weekend. “That’s a toddler in human years, but in cable years, four is ancient. Things change and people move on. Aaron is moving on,” Cooper explained gently.

“When I first got here, NewsNight and Aaron made a home for me,” Cooper said. He started filling in for Aaron in the summer of 2002. “Frankly, I wasn’t doing so hot at CNN and NewsNight was the only show that would have me,” he said.

At the end of the package, Cooper concluded: “Aaron Brown is not only a terrific anchor and reporter, he has also been remarkably generous to me and to all those he worked with, generous with his time, his attention, and his knowledge. We shall miss him and all the people here who worked with him will miss him, as well. Thanks, Aaron.”

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.