Anderson Cooper

Who are your favorite New Yorkers?
Anderson Cooper: Doormen and cops. They are keepers of this city’s unwritten history.

What’s your favorite place in New York?
Anderson Cooper: Believe it or not, I love Times Square on New Year’s Eve. I know, I know; it’s derided by New Yorkers. But when you’re covering it for CNN and you’re on a riser overlooking the crowds and the confetti is blinding and “New York, New York” is playing over the loudspeakers, it’s actually great.

What’s your personal favorite moment in New York?
Anderson Cooper: My favorite moment was when I rode a city bus to school for the first time by myself. It must have been 1974 or ’75; I think I was seven or eight. It was exciting, scary; but once I got on and found a seat, I watched the streets pass by and suddenly felt very much at home.

What’s the future of New York? What are your hopes, and what needs to happen?
Anderson Cooper: No one can predict the future of this place. That’s part of what makes it so interesting. All those who have washed ashore here, all those yet to come. I just hope the city keeps morphing, evolving. I just hope it keeps hurtling forward.

Complete the sentence: New York is…
Anderson Cooper: The sentence does not need to be completed. It is complete: New York is.

If you could have a drink with another Top 40 person—Jay-Z, David Cross, Liev Schreiber, Kiki and Herb, or Patti LuPone—what do you do? And what do you talk about?
Anderson Cooper: I’ve yet to see Kiki and Herb perform. I consider it my single greatest failure as a New Yorker. I’ve had tickets, and something has always come up. So I’d opt for drinks with them. Time, place and attire of their choosing.

There seems to be a lot of yelling in cable news these days—and it’s so competitive. Where is the business going in the future? Wrestling matches between anchors? Cockfights?
Anderson Cooper: There is an awful lot of yelling, though most of it seems to be on other channels. I never yell. A lot of the outrage I see exhibited seems kind of phony to me. As for the future? I don’t know, Kiki and Herb might do a good cable newscast.

Next: Jay-Z >

The New York 40: