Mediaite Speaks With Anderson Cooper: “The Rest Of The World Feels Extraordinarily Far Away”

Mediaite: Some critics have said reporters and TV doctors are getting too close to the story in Haiti. How do you respond to that?

Cooper: I haven’t seen what other people are doing. I’m not a TV doctor, and it has got to be strange position. On one hand, they have medical expertise and can save lives. If you’re in a position to save someone’s life and help someone, I don’t think it’s a big conflict, as long as you’re open about what you’ve done…I don’t think CNN is promoting it in a way that is inappropriate or over-promoting it. I was involved in it, we were very careful how we discussed it. It got more coverage elsewhere than it did on CNN.

“My team is working around the clock, and we’re all getting sick in one way or another.”

Mediaite: What have you found is the most difficult to convey in your reporting?

Cooper: I’m not sure it’s difficult, but what we’re trying to convey is what it’s like being here, what’s actually hapepning. I try to take somebody who is in their living room or the gym, and for a few moments transport them to the streets of Port-au-Prince, or transport them to someone else’s shoes. Someone who is dealing with the immediate effects of the quake, or the aftermath of the quake – to walk in their shoes.

Mediaite: Is there an image, or a moment that you will take away personally? I know for some here it will undoubtedly be you carrying the bleeding child to safety.

Cooper: That was certainly a very intense experience. And I’ve been in situations like that before, but this is the first time I actually intervened in such direct way. It was a spur-the-moment decision, and I still think it was the right decision. The little boy had a bad head wound and couldn’t get up, and I felt he was in great harm. Anybody would have done same thing if they were in that position. To me, what really stands out in my mind has nothing to do with the coverage. It’s just seeing people, talking to people, who are digging through rubble with their own hands, trying to find loved ones or even complete strangers. That’s what I see when I close my eyes at night.

Mediaite: So your plan now is to come back at the end of the week?

Cooper: Honestly, I don’t know. We’re taking it day-by-day. We’re definitely staying through this week and then we’ll re-assess. My team is working around the clock, and we’re all getting sick in one way or another.

A report yesterday from Cooper:

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