''Anderson Cooper 360°'' (commonly shortened to either ''AC-360'' or ''360'') is an American television news show on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and

CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...

, hosted by CNN journalist and news anchor

Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...

. Current segments include ‘Reality Check’ for fact-testing claims, ‘AC360° Hotline’ for viewer Q&A, and special field reports from Cooper. The show currently airs weeknights live from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm ET. Since May 20, 2019, ''360°'' has been broadcast live from CNN's set in Studio 21L at CNN's offices in 30 Hudson Yards in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is also sometimes broadcast from CNN's studios in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

or from the site of a breaking news event, airing Monday through Friday evenings. Clips and full episodes are also posted to CNN’s YouTube channel and offered as a weekly podcast, extending its audience online.

Beginnings

''360°'' was launched on September 8, 2003, as a laid-back

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

/ talk program running for one hour at 7:00pm ET. During Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, CNN executives noticed an impressive ratings boost of '' NewsNight'' due to Cooper's on-site reporting and growing popularity. The executives decided to cancel ''NewsNight'' and expand ''360°'' to two hours on November 7, 2005. By late 2005, the now expanded two-hour format had lifted its primetime ratings by over 20 percent! In August 2011, the show was moved up to 8:00pm ET while maintaining a replay of the show at its original 10:00pm ET time slot. In June 2013, however, CNN decided to stop airing regular repeats of the show, with the 10:00pm ET time slot featuring its spin-off show titled ''AC360° Later'' which featured panel discussions on recent events led by Cooper. This show featured a rotating panel of analysts and aired new interviews even as repeats were phased out. After being faced with irregular and inconsistent scheduling (sometimes being replaced by CNN documentaries or re-runs of ''AC360°'' from earlier in the day), it was finally discontinued in February 2014. The cancellation was caused due to low and erratic viewership, coupled with CNN’s push toward on-demand digital content, which was ultimately the final nail in the coffin.

Format

The show is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

live on both

and

. Cooper often anchors the program from the site of a major news story, such as his extensive coverage from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

and the BP oil spill, in addition to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

after the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

, and from the storm zone in Tacloban, Leyte, during the aftermath of Super

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that is among List of the most intense tropical cyclones, the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. Upon ...

. On September 26, 2007, ''360°'' began broadcasting in high definition on CNN HD. Frequent analysts and contributors to the show include CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King, Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash, Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, Senior Washington Correspondent Joe Johns, David Mattingly, Investigative Reporters Randi Kaye and Gary Tuchman, Special Investigations reporter Drew Griffin, and Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin. Other contributors include Josh Campbell, truTV's legal analyst Lisa Bloom, terrorism expert

Peter Bergen Peter Lampert Bergen (born December 12, 1962) is an American journalist, documentary producer, historian, and author, best known for his work on national security and counterterrorism. He has written or edited ten books—three of which were ...

, Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson, and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky. King, '' The Situation Room'' host Wolf Blitzer, Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper, Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto, and '' New Day'' co-anchor John Berman frequently serve as the fill-in presenters when Cooper is not available.

Segments

* "360 Bulletin" appeared at the top and bottom of the hour and was most recently presented by Amara Walker, who provided a quick review of other top news stories. Each “360 Bulletin” slot lasted roughly two minutes and featured a rapid-fire mix of headlines, graphics and on-screen fact boxes The segment is no longer included in most broadcasts. Previous presenters have included Isha Sesay and Erica Hill. * "Crime and Punishment" presented the background and latest developments of high-profile crimes. Originally this segment was a weekly ten-minute deep dive into the topic of discussion but was scaled back in 2011 to occasional special reports due to time constraints. This segment has been included only minimally since then. * "Keeping Them Honest" exposes possible issues of government corruption, failed promises, and other anomalies from various sectors. * "The Ridiculist" presented more lighthearted and humorous stories and often aired near the end of the program. (Cooper has dissolved into extended fits of giggles at least twice during this segment. Such as on August 17, 2011, when joking about Gérard Depardieu urinating in a plane, and on April 10, 2012, during a spot about Dyngus Day.) The segment appears sporadically and has not appeared at all since it last aired in 2019.

Supplements to the TV show

The CNN website and its AC360 section provides visitors segments and video clips of previous episodes and interviews. A podcast version of each broadcast was available for download throughout 2012, in which Cooper recorded a new introduction before playing clips from the main broadcast. That feature was subsequently phased out of the website.

Recognition

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, ''360°'' was nominated twice for a

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

in the category of "Outstanding TV Journalism – News Segment." The nominated segments were "School Outing" and "Secret Sex Lives." In 2006, the show has won the following News & Documentary

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s: * Outstanding Live Coverage of a Breaking News Story Long Form for the report ''Starving in Plain Sight'' on the famine in Nigeria * Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast for the report on Charity Hospital The show also won the following Business & Financial Reporting Emmy Award in 2006: * Outstanding Coverage of a Current Business News Story In a Regularly Scheduled Newscast for the report on Black Market Infertility The show was nominated but did not win in 2007 for the following News & Documentary Emmy Awards: * Outstanding Live Coverage of a Breaking News Story – Long Form for the report on ''Sago Mines''. * Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Lighting Direction & Scenic Design for the report ''High Rise Crash'' The show won in 2007 for the following Business & Financial Reporting Emmy Awards: * Outstanding Coverage of a Current Business News Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast for the report on ''Keeping Them Honest – Hidden Spending''. The show received two more nominations in 2008 but did not win: * Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast for the report ''Unapproved Drugs'' * Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast for the report ''Chicago Police Brutality'' In 2010, ''Anderson Cooper 360°'' was nominated for a

for "Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine" for the episode "Bullied to Death?" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards. In 2011, ''AC360'' won two Emmys for their coverage of the earthquake in Haiti: * Outstanding coverage of a breaking news story in a regularly scheduled newscast, ''Haiti in ruins'' * Outstanding live coverage of a current news story – long form, ''crisis in Haiti''

References

External links

* *
Anderson Cooper 360° Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson Cooper 360 2003 American television series debuts 2000s American television talk shows 2010s American television talk shows 2020s American television talk shows Television shows presented by Anderson Cooper CNN original programming American English-language television shows Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners American live television series Television shows filmed in New York City