ANDERSON COOPER To Moonlight For 60 MINUTES

(From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- By Scott Leith)

CNN's ANDERSON COOPER plans to moonlight for
60 MINUTES on CBS, contributing up to five reports a year for the landmark Sunday evening program.

Cooper, whose star at CNN rose in the wake of his coverage of HURRICANE KATRINA, had been expected to take a post with 60 MINUTES. He'll remain employed by CNN and will continue with his nightly program, ANDERSON COOPER 360.

As part of the deal, CNN will be have rights to a one-time rerun of Cooper's 60 MINUTES reports. Cooper has, in the past, contributed reports to 60 MINUTES II.

Another of CNN's well-known figures, CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, also has done reports for CBS NEWS programs.

CNN/U.S. President JON KLEIN, a veteran of CBS NEWS, said the partnership is a "beneficial one." "Anderson gets much deserved exposure for his distinctive reports," Klein said in a prepared statement.

Cooper has been among CNN's most-touted anchors in recent times. In April, his 10 pm show was watched by 701,000 viewers, down 23 percent. In the 11 pm slot, in which he also appears, his viewership was up 13 percent to 424,000.

While ratings were down at 10 pm, results from April 2005 were boosted by coverage of notable events that included the death of POPE JOHN PAUL II.