Anderson Cooper From The Gulf: “We All Have Jobs To Do, And We’re Doing Ours”

Q&A

by Steve Krakauer | 4:38 pm, June 8th, 2010

» 7 comments

Anderson Cooper has been anchoring and reporting from the Gulf Coast for CNN for weeks – just as he was nearly five years ago. He conducted an exclusive interview with a group of oil rig survivors this week – part two airs tonight.

We talked to Cooper about why BP won’t come on his show, comparisons to Hurricane Katrina and how CNN is different than the cable competition.

You can hear the full BlogTalkRadio interview below, which took place this morning. It is part of our ongoing series, “Live From The Spill” – we’ll have more coming later this week.

Here are a couple key exchanges, with the full interview after:

(1:39) Mediaite: At the very least this seems like a story that will continue throughout the summer. A lot of it may not have even hit yet as far as what we’re about to see.

Cooper: Yeah I think so. Hopefully they’ll be able to get more of the oil up. There’s still going to be a significant oil flow until these deep wells are drilled and it may not be until August sometime. It’s hard to really – BP is not very forthcoming with information. If there was as much information flow as there is oil flow we’d be in a much better position in terms of assessing what’s really going on…This is a company which had promised transparency early on. And I think they have not really lived up to that promise.

(6:40) Mediaite: President Obama told Matt Lauer today he wants to know whose ass to kick. It’s certainly elevated level of language, what do you think about the President’s tactic here?

Cooper: I saw that interview. He appears frustrated, certainly sensitive to criticisms I think that have been made toward him both by people on television and also by local people around here…He is feeling pressure and is certainly frustrated at BP and angry, and also not pleased I think with some of th coverage from the gulf. But we all have jobs to do, and we’re doing ours.

(9:50) Mediaite: [Going live until 2amET on Thursday] seems like a differentiating factor between CNN and the rest of cable news.

Cooper: I think so. The fact that we’ve done it numerous times before – it doesn’t seem to happen on a lot of other networks from what I understand. We do have a lot of resources, a lot of correspondents around, and when there’s something interesting and ongoing and of importance, why not just continue with it live?

Check out the full interview, including his urging to visit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast despite the recent “punch in the gut”:

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TfT

Snicker….I’m not a Cooper fan so let me be clear on that.

Cooper didn’t seem to have the same concern for Bush when he was bashing Bush on Katrina, despite the fact that Bush ordered a state of emergency three days prior to the hurricane hitting, and yet, CNN et al, blamed Bush and gave a pass to Blanco and Nagin. Now Cooper seems to “feel” for Obama, hmmmmm.

I didn’t read the whole interview, but I see that Cooper criticized BP for lack of transparency, did he do the same for the President?

I saw that Cooper didn’t really answer your question regarding the “interview” and the “ass kicking” comment and Obama’s tactic. Interesting.
libra blue

Good interview. Anderson’s interview with Dudley wasn’t unfair, but it was more challenging than the other interviews that I have seen done with BP reps so I am not surprised that they are reluctant to do it.

How do we know that these videos BP is “sharing” are an honest representation of what is actually happening? Especially since, according to Brian Ross, early on BP and the Coast Guard conspired to hide the real images of the oil leak from the American people while releasing footage that made it appear less serious. It could actually be even worse than what we are seeing now. I am surprised that no one else is talking about this, especially since blame is being passed around.

I understand what Anderson is saying about the decision to go live for four hours on June 3rd, but I think it is more than just having the “resources”, it was a deliberate decision by CNN/360 to give in-depth coverage to an important story, which is always appreciated by serious viewers. Anderson’s interview with the survivors was very telling, especially the revelation that BP ordered a “shorcut” in drilling procedure on the day of the explosion. As I have said before, with a safety record like BP’s, chances are they cut corners on something that probably contributed to or caused this explosion.
TfT

Was Anderson at the party with Rham? Word is Wolf was there, don’t know who else was there.
libra blue

@TfT, Although I agree that Anderson dodged the Obama question during this interview, this is probably the first time that Anderson has been anywhere near critical of Obama since he started running for president. The criticism seems to have started with Gergen’s WWII comment and Carville’s “outrage”. However since then, Anderson, Gergen, Carville, and even Mary Matalin have backed off of that criticism a bit, either by personal choice or because of orders dictated from “above”.

If 360 wants to really keep them honest, it should look into the Brian Ross accusations and the reason for BP’s “categorical exclusion” from the NEPA last April, as well as what other oil companies have gotten exclusions and waivers recently and why. They should also follow up on the MMS mess and any other “cozy” relationships between the Obama administration and big oil.

Anderson should be just as concerned about lack of transparency in the WH as he is with BP’s lack of transparency, which exists only with the assistance of the WH.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Make-BP-appear-on-AC360/122998907734005 mklitt

I listened to the interview. Anderson Cooper has really been on this story hard. I am glad he had the time to give this interesting interview. All the viewers know how frustrated he is that BP will not come on the show. This viewer is frustrated too and I created a FaceBook page “Make BP appear on AC360.” Join it if you would like to “encourage” BP to be more accountable.
rushyoungberg

Self-aggrandizement. Dodged the question of vulgarity as frustration and anger. The person that I feel sorry for is Cooper. He knows that his postion is untenable. He certainly is doing his job which is obfuscation and damage control.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lisa-Weekley/1521230537 Lisa Weekley

Anderson please ask the Disc. Channel why they made a B.P. promo” Disaster in the Gulf ” instead of the peoples story I live in Mobile,Al. this is affecting my husbands work and he is not even a fisherman they need to tell the whole story not just B.P.’s version Thanks.