Latest news with #AndersonCooper360
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Anderson Cooper hires Hollywood ‘super agent' — a sign the $18M-a-year anchor may leave CNN: reports
Anderson Cooper has hired a reputed Hollywood 'super agent' — a sign that the CNN anchor, said to be pulling down an annual salary of $18 million, may exit the struggling cable network amid looming cost cuts. Cooper, the 58-year-old son of the late fashion designer and railroad heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, is ditching his longtime agent United Talent Agency in favor of Creative Artists Agency and its top deal broker Bryan Lourd. News of Cooper's move was reported on Tuesday morning by the news sites Semafor and Variety. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment. Advertisement 4 Anderson Cooper has hired a new agent — sparking buzz that the CNN anchor may be mulling a new chapter in his career. CNN The Post left a message on Lourd's voicemail seeking confirmation of the Variety and Semafor reports. The decision to switch agents and hire Lourd is significant given that the CAA rep's client roster leans more toward Hollywood's elite than traditional broadcast journalists, according to Variety. Lourd has offered his services to A-list stars such as Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron and Daniel Craig. Advertisement Cooper's shift in agencies has raised questions about whether the anchor may be preparing to expand his portfolio — or possibly exit the network altogether — as the traditional TV news model faces mounting financial pressures. The former war correspondent has diversified his media presence over the years. In addition to anchoring 'Anderson Cooper 360' on CNN, he contributes to CBS's '60 Minutes' and previously guest-hosted 'Jeopardy!' He was also once considered for a permanent role alongside Kelly Ripa on Disney's syndicated morning show 'Live.' These side gigs have given Cooper room to stretch beyond hard news, and his latest agent switch suggests there may be more evolution ahead. Advertisement 4 Bryan Lourd is the top agent at Creative Artists The Met Museum/Vogue Industry observers told Variety that Cooper's timing comes as networks across the board are cutting costs and rethinking their talent strategies. Cooper's bosses at media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery, which oversees CNN, is restructuring to separate its TV networks from its streaming and production businesses, a move analysts say could position the cable channels for a future sale. Earlier this month, WBD CEO David Zaslav announced the split. He has assigned his 'slash and burn' chief financial officer, Gunnar Wiedenfels, the task of looking for ways to slash costs when he takes over CNN and other cable assets under the umbrella of a new company called Global Networks. Advertisement 4 Hollywood starlet Charlize Theron is among Lourd's A-list clients. Getty Images for LVMH x Vogue x NBC Last week, Puck News reported that Cooper's hefty salary — which is said to be more than five times that of fellow prime time host Kaitlan Collins despite the fact that both generate similar viewership numbers — could be in Wiedenfels' crosshairs. CNN has refused to confirm Cooper's salary. The network has also disputed the figures that have been reported in the press. The Post has sought comment from Cooper. Many veteran anchors have been let go or asked to take pay cuts. Chris Wallace exited CNN while Cooper's former colleagues Don Lemon, Jim Acosta and Alisyn Camerota have all departed key roles. 4 Lourd's roster of clients also includes Scarlett Johansson. AP Cooper's own longstanding deal with CNN reportedly dates back to 2016, when he signed a multiyear extension believed to last at least five years. That contract was widely interpreted as CNN's way of locking him down and keeping him from joining ABC's morning show. In recent years, Cooper has grown his profile through a podcast on grief and his recurring New Year's Eve broadcasts with Andy Cohen, which have become a hallmark of CNN's holiday programming. Advertisement Meanwhile, the parent companies behind these news operations are undergoing significant transformations. Paramount Global, which owns CBS News, is in the process of merging with Skydance Media, a deal that includes $1.5 billion in planned cost reductions — on top of $500 million already slashed. At Comcast, NBCUniversal is spinning off many of its cable assets, putting MSNBC and CNBC on a different track from NBC News.
New York Post
12-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
CNN's Anderson Cooper rakes in $18M annually — as network faces spinoff amid ratings freefall: report
CNN is reportedly paying anchor Anderson Cooper $18 million a year — an eye-popping sum that could be in the crosshairs when the ratings-challenged network is spun off by its debt-ridden parent company. Cooper, the face of the network and host of its primetime show at 8 p.m., along with other anchors like Kaitlan Collins and Jake Tapper face an uncertain future following Monday's stunning announcement by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav about the looming split, according to the Puck newsletter. Zaslav tapped WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels to take over CNN and other cable assets including TNT, TBS, HGTV as part of a new company called Global Networks. Advertisement 4 Anderson Cooper is reportedly raking in $18 million a year from CNN — even as the network faces brutal cost-cutting, cratering ratings and an uncertain future. Getty Images for CNN A source told The Post that CNN staffers are worried about Wiedenfel, who they say has a reputation for ruthlessly cutting costs. 'Gunnar news is not good,' the person said. 'He is slash and burn.' Advertisement Puck media writer Dylan Byers singled out Cooper and his $18 million salary as a possible target, considering the network remains mired in last place in the ratings. 'Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?' Byers wrote. According to the latest Nielsen ratings, 'Anderson Cooper 360' drew 647,000 total viewers on Tuesday — or about $27 per viewer. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Advertisement 'The Source with Kaitlan Collins, which airs at 9 p.m., pulled in 829,000 viewers on Tuesday, according to Nielsen. Cooper's exact salary has never been reported and its not clear where Byers got the figure. The Post previously reported that the son of Gloria Vanderbilt is paid as much as $20 million a year. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment Cooper's salary. Cooper, who joined CNN in 2001, may not stick around for the purported bloodbath. Advertisement 'By the time Gunnar gets around to it, Anderson will likely have determined that he no longer wants to read the day's news to less than a million people every night, either,' Byers wrote. 4 Gunnar Wiedenfels, Warner Bros. Discovery's chief financial officer, is set to take over the company's flailing cable assets, including CNN. Warner Bros. Discovery The CNN rep vigorously pushed back on Byers' suggestion that high-salaried anchors may get severe haircuts amid anticipated restructuring under Wiedenfels. 'This is a complete fabrication. There is zero truth to this,' the spokesperson said. The cable news pioneer — which touts itself as 'The Most Trusted Name in News' — had paid out hefty contracts but its ratings have plunged to historic lows in recent years. During breaking news events, Fox News has often quadrupled CNN's audience. Fox News is a unit of Fox Corp — sister company to The Post's corporate parent News Corp. 4 Warner Bros. Discovery under the leadership of CEO David Zaslav recently announced it would split into two companies. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement The economics of maintaining a sprawling global news operation with expensive talent are becoming increasingly hard to defend, especially as younger viewers turn to TikTok and YouTube for news. Last fall, CNN denied raises to veteran anchors Tapper and Wolf Blitzer as rank-and-file journalists braced for layoffs, as The Post reported. 4 Cooper reportedly earns a salary that is five times more than fellow prime time anchor Kaitlan Collins, who draws around the same number of viewers. Bloomberg via Getty Images As part of the Warner Bros. Discovery breakup, Zaslav will keep HBO, Warner Bros. Studios and the Max streaming platform. Advertisement Last week, 59% of shareholders voted against his massive $51.9 million pay package for 2024 — a strong sign of investor frustration. WBD was formed in 2022 in a $43.1 billion merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery. The majority of WBD's roughly $37 billion in debt load will be foisted onto the Global Network.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat who served in Afghanistan raises concerns about Marines in LA
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), who commanded a Marine platoon in Afghanistan, is raising concerns about President Trump's deployment of Marines to Los Angeles amid immigration protests in the city. 'As a Marine, did you ever expect to see active-duty members of the military, active-duty Marines deployed on U.S. soil in the capacity that they are now?' CNN's John Berman asked Auchincloss on 'Anderson Cooper 360' in an interview highlighted by Mediaite. 'No, John, because in this scenario, as in almost every scenario imaginable, it is unnecessary, it's illegal and it's deeply unfair to these Marines,' Auchincloss responded. The 700 Marines mobilized to the Los Angeles area on Monday hadn't completed pre-mission training as of Wednesday morning, a U.S. Northern Command official confirmed to The Hill. The Marines were 'still conducting pre-mission training and they have not been employed by Task Force 51, the DoD command element in Los Angeles,' a statement from a Northcom spokesperson said. 'These Marines signed up to sweat and bleed in defense of their country, not to be a political prop for a president who's sagging in the approval ratings,' Auchincloss said Wednesday. Tensions between Democrats and Trump have flared amid the situation in Los Angeles, with the president recently deciding to mobilize thousands of California National Guard Troops and the active-duty Marines to quell immigration protests in L.A. Trump has sparred with California officials over the deployment, chiefly Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is challenging Trump's moves in court. Earlier this week, Trump backed arresting Newsom after the governor dared the White House border czar to do so amid their clash over the immigration protests. 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,' Newsom fired back in a post on social platform X. 'This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Democrat who served in Afghanistan raises concerns about Marines in LA
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), who commanded a Marine platoon in Afghanistan, is raising concerns about President Trump's deployment of Marines to Los Angeles amid immigration protests in the city. 'As a Marine, did you ever expect to see active-duty members of the military, active-duty Marines deployed on U.S. soil in the capacity that they are now?' CNN's John Berman asked Auchincloss on 'Anderson Cooper 360' in an interview highlighted by Mediaite. 'No, John, because in this scenario, as in almost every scenario imaginable, it is unnecessary, it's illegal and it's deeply unfair to these Marines,' Auchincloss responded. The 700 Marines mobilized to the Los Angeles area on Monday hadn't completed pre-mission training as of Wednesday morning, a U.S. Northern Command official confirmed to The Hill. The Marines were 'still conducting pre-mission training and they have not been employed by Task Force 51, the DoD command element in Los Angeles,' a statement from a Northcom spokesperson said. 'These Marines signed up to sweat and bleed in defense of their country, not to be a political prop for a president who's sagging in the approval ratings,' Auchincloss said Wednesday. Tensions between Democrats and Trump have flared amid the situation in Los Angeles, with the president recently deciding to mobilize thousands of California National Guard Troops and the active-duty Marines to quell immigration protests in L.A. Trump has sparred with California officials over the deployment, chiefly Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is challenging Trump's moves in court. Earlier this week, Trump backed arresting Newsom after the governor dared the White House border czar to do so amid their clash over the immigration protests. 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,' Newsom fired back in a post on social platform X. 'This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.'
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Clooney: ‘Everybody worries' about being targeted by Trump
George Clooney, a vocal critic of President Trump, says fears of being targeted by the administration are widespread. 'Everybody worries about it,' Clooney told Anderson Cooper in a Wednesday interview on CNN. 'But if you spend your life worrying about things, then you won't do things,' the 'Good Night, and Good Luck' actor said. 'Like everybody, we have a family and we have a life and we try to live and do the things as the best example for our kids,' the Academy Award winner, who's married to human rights attorney Amal Clooney, told the 'Anderson Cooper 360' host. 'I want to be able to look at my kids in the eye and say where we stood and what we did at certain times in history. And I have no problem with that,' said Clooney, one of Hollywood's most prominent Democratic supporters. Last year, Clooney famously penned a New York Times op-ed calling for then-President Biden to abandon his 2024 reelection campaign, citing the commander in chief's age. Biden withdrew from the race weeks later and Clooney backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris's White House bid. In the interview with Cooper, Clooney expressed skepticism when asked if 'Trumpism lasts beyond this term.' 'I don't think so. I think it'd be very hard to do it,' Clooney, 64, replied. 'Remember this: Donald Trump is a celebrity. That's what he is. I mean, he has a star on Hollywood Boulevard,' he said of the former 'Celebrity Apprentice' host, who's responded to Clooney's criticism in the past by calling him a 'second rate movie star.' 'I don't have a star. I'm not lobbying for one, I'm just saying,' Clooney added with a grin. 'He's a celebrity, and he's the president [of the] United States, and so he has been elected. Duly elected — fair deal. I'm not complaining about that. That's how it works. That's how this democracy works,' Clooney continued. 'But he's also a celebrity, and he is charming. And to the people who like him, they think he's funny — to a great many others, they don't,' he said of Trump. 'So when [Trump] is finished — and he will be finished — they're going to have to go looking for someone who can deliver the message that he delivered with the same kind of charisma, and they don't have that.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
