Late Sunday, Anderson Cooper and fellow part-time hero / full-time correspondent Sanjay Gupta tweeted that they were going back to Haiti. Almost a month after a major quake destroyed the capital, most news crews and their high profile reporters have long since packed up and left. Haiti is no longer front page news and that makes Cooper's return all the more interesting.

It's no secret that CNN sees a spike in viewing during disasters, so is the network just milking the tragedy for ratings? Is it a genuine plea for a people forgotten by the news cycle? Or is it just good journalism?

I don't know who else is mesmerized by the news coverage of Haiti, but I imagine that many people are still watching the devastating footage blanketing the news networks. As much as I want to turn it off, I can't. I'm compelled to look. A part of me thinks that it's my responsibility to bear witness to the horror.

Anyway, with all my CNN viewing, it's becoming clear that CNN reporters are slowly becoming part of the story, rather than just covering it. Yesterday, on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, 3 reporters put aside their journalistic hats and pitched in to help the quake victims.

Yeah, I'm obsessed with CNN right now. After days of being glued to Anderson Cooper 360, it's becoming clear that he's seriously coming off the rails. During last night's broadcast, Cooper seemed to do little reporting and a lot of "ranting" (his words) about the lack of supplies and aid getting to Haiti.

It's honestly riveting. Not only is he airing his frustration at the red tape hindering the process, but he seems to be approaching Katrina levels of pissed off.

It used to be that a band would debut a new song either on a tape that they handed out to fans at a club or on a radio station. Now they're debuting on cable news shows.

REM will debut their new song "Until The Day Is Done" tonight at 10 on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. This isn't the first time they've used Cooper's show to debut something. The "Bad Day" video was first seen on the show five years ago. Tonight the song will be used during scenes from the special Planet in Peril.

Anderson Cooper has been going after Fox News for some of the things they've said and the way they've handled various news stories, and now the cable network is going after Cooper.

Not only are the hosts of Fox & Friends and Greta Van Susteren hitting back on the air, Fox has also taken out a full-page print ad. How can they possibly say those things about him, accuse him of being "manufactured" and that he hasn't earned his position? Are they kidding me? When was the last time we saw Steve Doocy traveling all over the world, reporting from dangerous countries and conflicts? Cooper is the one who bought a handheld camera and went to foreign countries to report before he even had a gig, when he was really young. I think he's earned it. (In related news, Fox News actually tried to hire Cooper.)

After the jump, two videos of FNC's campaign against the CNN host.

(But come on readers, if Fox News wants to say something like that, we can think of something better to call them. How should we fill in these blanks? "Fox News is the _____________ of TV news.")

Update: Looks like Fox even got the facts wrong.

CNN's Anderson Cooper has just signed a new contract with the cable network, and this one is estimated to be worth $4 million dollars a year, a raise from the $2 million dollars a year he is getting under his current contract.

The Broadcasting & Cable article linked above also says that because Cooper is no longer available, producers of The Early Show are going to have to look elsewhere for a new host for the morning show. Though I never heard definitive word that Cooper was in line for the gig, just that the show was undergoing major changes.

Cooper hosts the nightly news show Anderson Cooper 360 and has started to also contribute to CBS' 60 Minutes. The new contract is a multi-year deal.

So readers...is he worth it?

[via TV Newser]

TV Newser (or maybe a reader of the site) found this promotional site for CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. It has all the usual stuff you'd find on such a site: a bio of the host, video, behind the scenes info, etc. But this one is hosted by a talking, mini Anderson Cooper himself!

Cooper walks into the right side of the screen and tells you about the show, and when you click the various categories he gives you a little introduction to what your'e about to see. If you click on "About Anderson" he explains how he's bored of talking about himself. If you click on "Behind AC360," he says they've edited out all the yelling and screaming that goes on behind the scenes of the show. You can even buy Anderson Cooper shirts and hats and pens! Unfortunately, he doesn't have anything funny to say about this, the link just goes to the Turner Networks store.

You can even find out what Cooper has on his iPod. He seems to like Elvis Costello, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Johnny Cash, Sugar, and The Hives.

[via TV Newser]

A few years ago, when Survivor-mania was at its peak and eating rats still made shocking television, I felt somewhat alienated... because, well, I just didn't see the appeal of reality television. However, that all changed when a program called The Mole arrived on ABC. It was smart, challenging, and featured a silver-haired host by the name of Anderson Cooper. Finally, a reality show worth watching.

Jon Stewart began by joking that the night's guest, Anderson Cooper, came from a very famous family... His father is Gary Cooper. Not many of the audience members laughed. I think that might have been due to the fact that most people are unaware that Anderson is actually a Vanderbilt (his mother is the famed heiress Gloria Vanderbilt). It's another thing I love about Anderson: He doesn't flaunt his family name.

Last night, Karina told you about Anderson Cooper confronting Senator Mary Landrieu about relief efforts in the devastated areas of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, and now here's the video and transcript.

[via TV Newser]

We love it when news anchors get into silly fights. First Anderson Cooper takes some time on his CNN show to dump on FOX and MSNBC for devoting so much time to the Natalee Holloway case. Then MSNBC's Dan Abrams takes some time on his show to fire back at Cooper, asking how Cooper can have that attitude when Larry King and Nancy Grace are all Natalee Holloway/Michael Jackson happy all the time, and when even Cooper has covered such stories.

I have to admit, even though I like Cooper's show a lot more, Abrams has a point.