“Quasi-Respected Journalist” Anderson Cooper Keeps Chelsea Handler Honest

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by Steve Krakauer | 9:16 am, April 14th, 2010

» 19 comments

CNN was all about the comedians in prime time last night, with Larry King‘s George Lopez interview, but also with Anderson Cooper‘s “360 Big Interview” of Chelsea Handler (host of Chelsea Lately).

They talked Conan O’Brien, Heidi and Spencer and joked about Cooper’s “quasi” journalistic qualities. But what can interviews like this tell about Cooper role?

The interview kicked off with the Conan to TBS news, which Handler called “a surprise.” “The more people in the 11 o’clock timeslot the better,” said Handler, joking about basic cable, “It doesn’t get a lot worse than this, so just enjoy the road to the middle.”

Cooper also showed his reality TV chops, discussing Bret Michaels and Rock Of Love:

Handler: Are you a fan?
Cooper: I must say I’ve watched a couple. I like it when he would hand out to the passes to the backstage, that was his sign that you’d stay on for another week. You’d stuck your tongue down his throat enough that you could actually be voted on the next week.

That was where the CNN embedded video ended (below), but Handler was back for a second segment as well, with a lightning round of even less newsy topics. When asked if she’d go hang out with Heidi and Spence from The Hills on a desert island for one million dollars, she declined, but Cooper wasn’t sure for himself. “You can’t do that,” Handler told him. “No, you are as quasi-respected journalist, and you might want to keep it that way.”

“I appreciate the quasi,” said Cooper laughing. “You threw me that bone.”

Look, this isn’t about Cooper being a “quasi-respected journalist” – his work in Haiti and even the majority of last night’s show prove he is very much a journalist. But this lighter fare during prime time gets juxtaposed with yesterday’s quasi-upfront for CNN touting all the journalism taking place on the network, putting themselves in a “category of one.” Still, it is this type of interview that continually raise questions about what exactly Cooper wants to do with his career at CNN, as the first of his live audience specials is filmed tonight.

He can do both – but joking about Speidi is a far cry from the more serious subject his program often focuses on.

Here’s the interview from CNN below:

anderson cooper, Anderson Cooper 360, Chelsea Handler, Chelsea Lately, CNN

timzank

{Look, this isn’t about Cooper being a “quasi-respected journalist” }

When you are relegated to interviewing Chelsea Handler, you may just qualify as a “quasi-respected” journalist. I’d expect to see Chelsea on maybe Joy Behar, but not on 360.
The Real Royal King

I can’t imagine why Anderson did this, other than the fact that CNN is expecting Larry King to rip the big one soon and blow up the studio and himself. The hopefully less flatulent Cooper is apparently the heir apparent. That, too, is a shame.

This reminds me of several months ago when Greta Van Susteren dashed off breathlessly to L.A. to interview Kim Kardashian. I believe this was labeled a “major exclusive”.

What are these people thinking? Don’t these media personalities realize how such interviews diminish them?
Jamestaylor

Hi. I’m Anderson Cooper and I play a journalist on CNN.”

Chelsea Handler? hahahaha
libra blue

So this is the new face of CNN’s “credible journalism”?

I guess this is what Jim Walton meant by Anderson’s “smart, unbiased, leading journalism”. The quote about Bret Michaels kind of complements Anderson’s “tea bag” comment don’t you think?

I agree that Anderson did great work in Haiti, but he didn’t do it alone, reporters on 360 like Gary Tuchman, Ivan Watson, Sanjay Gupta, and others deserve a lot of the credit.

Celebrities have no business on a serious news program, I don’t care if it is “AC360″, “On the Record”, or “60 Minutes”.

Chelsea Handler does not, “you know” belong on a supposedly serious news program. I would not even characterize this crap as an interview, it was more like idle chit-chat. Not only did Anderson stretch this giggle fest into two segments, but he kept advertising it throughout the show like it was some sort of major event. This boring bimbo didn’t have anything to say in the first segment and less in the second. Also, the AC360 blog moderators deleted any negative comments viewers tried to post about the interview, leaving only complimentary ones which were probably posted by the 360 staff to make people believe that it was popular with the viewers.

At least Bill Cosby had something interesting and important to say about bullying on Larry King Live.

At first I thought that Anderson wanted to be Oprah, but now I think he’d rather be Howard Stern. Anderson became a “quasi-respected journalist” the moment the phrase “tea bag” left his lips.
bakoff

@ Libra blue – I am pretty sure Chelsea Handler would agree whole heartedly with your assesment of her and the stupidity of her being featured on a news show. The blame isn’t on her – they asked and she has a show she wants people to watch, so why not? – it’s really on the producers who booked her. Maybe they should consider having an “entertainment segment” on once a week so people who like that sort of stuff can tune in and the rest if us can avoid it.
Munch

AC: Interview Steven Seagal, he’s in a heck of a mess.
libra blue

@bakoff, “Maybe they should consider having an “entertainment segment” on once a week so people who like that sort of stuff can tune in and the rest if us can avoid it.”

O.K. I will admit that the blame really doesn’t lie with Handler, but I still say that was more like chit-chat than an interview. I think that “entertainment” is what Anderson’s new show is going to be about, at least partially, but isn’t this the type of thing they do on HLN?

As I said before, Anderson has always shown an interest in doing an Oprah-type show. He always finds an excuse to interview celebrities, he even interviewed Sean Penn a number of times about Haiti. Now I will give him a pass for that because I think Penn is really sincere, but rumor has it that Demi Moore is going to be interviewed on 360 because she went down there. What the hell do viewers care what Demi Moore has to say? Aren’t there more important people with more experience with what is happening in Haiti that he could interview? What can celebrities really tell us about what is happening in Haiti after spending only a few days down there?

Maybe they should have given Anderson Conan’s 11pm spot on TBS and left 360 to someone who wants to be a full time “real” journalist.
bakoff

libra blue I couldn’t agree more! I only watch AC’s show in passing and this b-s “newsertainment” or whatever this genre is won’t make me land on the show any more often.
libra blue

@bakoff, Yeah, I don’t get it. What audience is Anderson going after? I guess he is willing to throw the serious more intelligent viewers under the bus in hopes of attracting the less intelligent “Regis & Kelly” reality show bunch to get higher ratings. Quantity at the expense of quality. Sadly, it just might work.
Rogue-Comic

Chelsea looked rather “rough” in that segment, might be time for her to lay off the vodka.
Munch

Chelsea , you look like you could use a Handler.
nam

The quasi-upfront for CNN was touting primarily their neutrality. They weren’t claiming that they never cover entertainment news or talk to entertainers.

Anderson is a news anchor not a partisan commentator. That was their point about him. They weren’t claiming he is humorless or never does a light story, such a claim would be inaccurate and also irrelevant to his ability to be a quality journalist. A sense of humor and journalism are in no way mutually exclusive.

This interview came around the end of a show that had been full of hard news. Light subjects and people are also part of life and there is nothing wrong with the news acknowledging that. Light segments are a traditional part of news.
libra blue

@nam, “Anderson is a news anchor not a partisan commentator.”

Really? Since when?
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nam

@ libra I hope you are being facetious. There is an huge obvious difference between Anderson’s approach and work and that of people like Olbermann and O’Reilly. He is a traditional news anchor, they are partisan commentators. The difference should be clear to anyone who is making a fair minded assessment.

This article is silly. I don’t see mediaite saying 60 Minutes’ interviews with entertainers raise questions about what exactly the show wants to do on CBS. No, 60 Minutes has always featured interviews with entertainers and has always been respected for its journalism and regarded as a serious news show. I don’t see mediaite taking issue with major newspapers including an arts section with coverage of arts and enterainment, that is considered to enhance a newspaper’s coverage since arts and culture are part of the world they are reporting on. I don’t see mediaite questioning that cable hosts like Olbermann and O’Reilly present themselves as serious news commentators providing serious analysis but Olbermann includes sports coverage and chats with people like MIchael Musto and Seth Macfarlane and O’Reilly has on comedian Dennis Miller regularly and has been known to discuss controversies over people like Adam Lambert and nritiney Spears on his show.
MrTPar_taY

Betcha’ Anderson’s never handled a “Chelsea” before.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lars-Svensen/100001028197161 Lars Svensen

Cooper is about as “respected” as his sister hack, Andrew Sullivan.
koos de la rey

Christ what a tart.
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