Ever since his coverage of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in New Orleans, Anderson Cooper has become a household name.

But that wasn’t the first hurricane he covered ? and it most likely won’t be his last.

Contrary to what most people think, his show on CNN ? “360″ ? isn’t new on CNN. In fact, up until his coverage of Katrina captivated the U.S. nation, he had his show ? only it was from 7?8 p.m.

I’ve been watching Cooper for years. As a journalist, I have admired him. His storytelling ability is like something I’ve never seen in an anchor. Even if I have no interest on the subject he’s talking about, Cooper makes me want to watch it anyway.

Cooper released his memoirs this week called, appropriately, “Dispatches From the Edge,” which chronicles both his professional and personal life. I have it on my to-buy list.

Part of me is curious to read more about the man I go to bed with every night, but the professional side of me is also curious. Although I am a print journalist, I still feel like I could learn a lot from him.

I love the way he tells the stories of the people he is talking about. The way he draws the viewer in, even if you know nothing about the subject, by the end of Cooper’s story, you do know something about the subject. And usually, his pieces make you want to learn more.

And that is what makes a great journalist.

It’s too bad that the rest of the cable viewing public didn’t notice Cooper before Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast last year.

I admit, even I didn’t think much of Cooper the first time I saw him. As a hurricane junkie (I usually park myself in front of CNN when a hurricane makes landfall), the first time I saw Cooper he was trying not to blow away as a storm came ashore. And as I watched him yell into his microphone in the wind and rain, I couldn?t help but think, “poor guy.”

I always had thought that when a reporter was sent to cover a hurricane, it wasn’t a good thing. I thought it was a little silly that they were standing outside telling everyone how dangerous it was to be out (in fact Cooper confessed thinking along the same lines on “Larry King Live” tonight).

But Cooper was different, and a lot of his difference was shown in the aftermath of Katrina. He stuck around a lot longer than other media outlets, questioned officials who said everything was fine and even got emotional on the air, which most times I frown upon, but with Cooper it seems justified and okay when he gets teared up when talking to someone who has lost everything.

Rumours of course fly about Cooper, especially now that he has made it even bigger in the celebrity stratosphere (Oprah has said how much she respects him, and Oprah’s influence is a huge thing). The biggest one is that he is gay, which the journalist hasn’t confirmed or denied.

And I respect that.

Even though I am a celebrity junkie, for someone reason I don’t care if Cooper is gay or straight. Because to me he’s more than a celebrity, more than just a personality, more than just a guy who talks to me every night.

He’s a journalist and a storyteller ? nothing else.

And to me, that means more than any tabloid dirt about him ever could.






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