This may not come as much of a shock but Anderson Cooper is a bit of a drama queen. I've been on the fence about this for a while and I've finally realized that he really loves himself and he loves getting attention for himself. What more could be expected from the son of a notable designer.
Anderson is now reporting from Beirut because evidently he hasn't experienced enough drama in his life from his trips to Somalia, Iraq, and the Superdome in New Orleans. I'm not even sure if this can be called reporting. It is difficult to understand if Anderson is covering the war crisis or covering himself in the middle of the war crisis. This is complicated even further by watching him dodging bombs through a night vision camera.
Anderson reportedly never travels without a handheld camera and laptop because he never knows when a news story is going to hit. Translation: he never knows when an opportunity is going arise for him to grab the spotlight. Anderson will somehow find a way to make every story about him. The Middle East crisis is now the "Anderson is not afraid to go right into the danger zone" story. Shouldn't the real story be about the citizens of these countries having to endure years of tension that has now resulted in bombings?
More from Michaelene Nordfors, after the jump.
Many of us were very thankful for Anderson during his coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He was even adorned with the all revered Oprah-blessing. It looked as if he really wanted to tell the true story of Hurricane Katrina victims, but then he kept going and the story has now become about Anderson not being afraid to uncover the truth about Hurricane Katrina.
Now is a perfect opportunity for Anderson to show the world what a true journalist he is while reporting on the Middle East Crisis; if only he would leave the night vision camera in the hotel. Anderson, please do us all a favor and start reporting on the news and stop reporting on you in the news.
Written by Michaelene Nordfors
amfraser
Thank you!!
I was watching CNN last night and I began to suspect that there was something really wrong with me because I found it odd that rather than showing footage of the destruction, they were showing pictures of Anderson Cooper's reactions to the destruction, accompanied by his voiceover describing his feelings at the time.
Thank you for letting me know that at least one other finds this a bit creepy.
Arthur
Oh please. What's CNN to do? Face it, a lot of people are watching FOR Anderson. If there was BBC style news featuring anonymous and interchangable anchors, troop movements, casualty figures, bombs exploding and Senior Administration Officials lying on one channel, and Anderson on an unadorned stage reading Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories on another channel, I suspect Kipling would show surprising strength in the demo. I also suspect I might discover a hitherto unexplored interest in Kipling. They're getting people to watch the news. Good for them.
amfraser
No. They are getting people to watch Anderson reacting to the news. And that's fine. I like Anderson. He looks great running from peril in Prada. If he could unbutton his shirt a bit or maybe not wear a shirt at all, hell, I'd Tivo that. I'm sure Murrow is spinning in his grave, but he's just an old stiff anyway.
I personally don't like the direction that CNN is taking. I find the sensationalism icky, but I understand the rationale behind it. And I don't hold it against Anderson Cooper. I am from New Orleans and I will always be grateful to Anderson Cooper. He may have some narcissistic tendencies, but he's a good person. For that reason alone, not to mention the fact that he is incredibly media savvy, he would never read Kipling on the air. We have not yet degenerated to the point where blatant racism is acceptable to the mainstream that CNN targets.