A Split Personality

Chuck Barney: Anderson Cooper ready to embrace split-personality

By Chuck Barney
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 07/27/2011 -- 11:09:56 AM PDT
Updated: 07/27/2011 -- 12:47:07 PM PDT

beverly hills -- How will Anderson Cooper, veteran newsman, differ from Anderson Cooper, rookie talk-show host? It will be like night and day.

"In daytime, I'll be able to talk to people in a much more human and conversational way. I'll be able to go in-depth," Cooper told journalists gathered here for the Television Critics Association's summer press tour. " "... It's about making an emotional connection."

Cooper's syndicated gabfest, simply called "Anderson," is scheduled to debut in mornings and afternoons across the country on Sept. 12. (In the Bay Area, it will air at 3 p.m. on KTVU-Ch. 2.). It's an intriguing endeavor, not only because he'll do the gig while continuing to hold down his newscast on CNN, but because the talk show won't be exclusively tied to politics and hard news.

Broad range

Instead, it will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including social issues, trends, human interest stories and pop culture. In Cooper's words, the content will "range from the serious and important, to the silly and fun."

For the 44-year-old silver-haired journalist, that essentially means developing a split personality, with a big dose of gravitas in the evening and a more lighthearted touch during the day. Can he pull it off? If you've seen him goof around on "Live with Regis and Kelly" and other daytime shows, you know he has it in him. And let's not forget that this guy once hosted a kooky reality series called "The Mole."

"He's got a great sense of humor, he's self-deprecating and accessible," says Lisa Morin, one of the executive producers of "Anderson." " "... (Plus) the passion and the humanity that he has really connects with people."

Still, there are many viewers who connect him with CNN's signature newscast, "Anderson Cooper 360." They know him mostly as an empathetic reporter who travels the world and tackles the big stories. Last year, Cooper distinguished himself while spending several weeks in Haiti after the earthquake there. His tendency to shine during times of crisis has been apparent more recently during the uprising in Egypt, and after the tsunami in Japan and the tornado horror in Joplin, Mo.

Opportune time

While a daytime talk show could certainly boost Cooper's profile, it could also damage his hard-news credibility in the eyes of some viewers. (For the record, he's not worried.) And once he starts immersing himself in the daytime grind, will he still be able to jet off, at a moment's notice, to hot spots around the world?

"We want to be as flexible as possible," said Cooper, who explained that there may be times when he'll take the talk show on the road with him and do it live from a "big event."

Cooper is entering the talk-show fray at what seems to be an opportune time. Talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey has ended her 25-year run, leaving the door open for possible successors, including Katie Couric, who is set to launch a show next year. The daytime landscape will take on further change in coming months when Regis Philbin retires and two long-running ABC soap operas leave the air.

Determined to be his own man, Cooper said he's not looking to emulate anyone. That comment came just before he mentioned that he wanted to incorporate the audience into his show, a la Phil Donahue, and build the "sense of community and belonging" as Winfrey did. Oh, and he's looking to generate the kind of "real moments" that Ellen DeGeneres and Philbin and Kelly Ripa often do. Other than that, he doesn't want to "follow anyone else's footsteps."

And he's certainly prepared to reveal more of himself to a daytime audience. During his news conference, an engaging and affable Cooper shared funny stories from his offbeat childhood as the son of Gloria Vanderbilt. There was the time when he was scheduled to appear on "The Mike Douglas Show" in a Munchkin costume (the segment was scrapped). And then there was that stint as a 9-year-old on "To Tell the Truth."

"I was pretending to be the world's youngest bear trainer," he recalled.