Toronto, May 15, 2016 - CNN journalist and om-air personality, Anderson Cooper speaking in Toronto at the Einstein Gala. (Photo credit: Stacey Newman / Shutterstock)
Journalist Anderson Cooper announced Monday that he was leaving "60 Minutes" amid reports that he opted not to renew his contract with CBS News under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
Cooper is among the latest exits at the company, and plans to leave after the current season ends. He told CBS he would not return in the fall, The Wrap reported.
Cooper has anchored for CNN and also reported for the long-running show. He released a statement confirming the news, according to Deadline.
“Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career. I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors, and camera crews in the business. For nearly twenty years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me.”
Cooper's departure marks the latest change in the company's news team and turbulence under Weiss's leadership.
Weiss has been accused of pulling a segment from the newsmagazine show in December that included a report on migrants that had been deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s notoriously violent and deadly prison, but was canned by Weiss because it lacked on-camera interviews with members of the Trump administration. It had been approved by the network's legal and editorial teams.