What We Know About Anderson Cooper's 60 Minutes Exit (It's Not Looking Good For CBS)

After 20 years, Anderson Cooper is stepping away from the legendary news program "60 Minutes." The TV news journalist made the announcement on February 16 and said his decision came as he wanted to try to spend more time with his kids and improve his work-life balance. As Cooper said during the broadcast (via The Guardian), "Being a correspondent at '60 Minutes' has been one of the great honors of my career," but he's found it increasingly difficult to manage his time between his work on the CBS program and his work for CNN. "I have little kids now," Cooper added, "and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me."

Cooper, who joined the cast of the long-running TV news series in the 2006-2007 season, has undergone a stunning transformation over the years as he's grown into a venerated and trusted journalist. However, CBS has been struggling with credibility in recent months after CBS' new owner, Skydance's David Ellison, installed controversial opinion writer Bari Weiss as the CBS News editor-in-chief. This has led to several staffing shakeups and numerous controversies regarding Weiss' handling of news stories, with many accusing her of having a right-leaning pro-Donald Trump position that is reflected in her news judgment.

Given the surprising amount that Cooper is worth – both through his work as a journalist and as the child of millionaire heiress Gloria Vanderbilt – it's not like Cooper is going to be hurting financially by leaving "60 Minutes." However, sources say that Cooper's departure is not entirely motivated by wanting to spend more time with family, and his exit could be the start of an exodus of credibility.

Following Anderson Cooper's announcement that he's leaving "60 Minutes" after two decades, Status spoke to an unnamed source who said his exit wasn't just about spending time with his family. "He wasn't comfortable with the direction the show was taking under Bari," the source shared with the outlet, "and is in a position where he doesn't have to put up with it." The source said Cooper was uncomfortable with the "rightward direction" CBS is going under its new leadership and doesn't feel like he wants to be associated with the network any longer.

This decision came after two different instances in which Weiss reportedly stepped in to either kill a story or censor a story that would have been critical of the Trump Administration. First, in December, Weiss forced "60 Minutes" to hold a story about deportations tothe Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) prison in El Salvador. Then, more recently, Cooper presented a heavily edited report on the Trump administration's welcoming of some South African immigrants amid false claims of supposed "white genocide" in the country, and the administration's efforts to prioritize white refugees' immigration efforts. Sources close to Weiss, however, have denied claims that she's been trying to edit and censor news stories critical of Trump.

Variety reports that Cooper had been in negotiations for extending his contract at CBS, but decided against doing so. However, the program extended an olive branch, telling Variety that they appreciated Cooper "dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family." The network added that "'60 Minutes' will be here if he ever wants to return."