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With all the hubbub around NBC’s Today show in the past couple of months, you’d think that more people would be tuning in to actually watch the thing.

Unfortunately for the show and its hosts though, apparently not all publicity is good publicity after all. Today’s Matt Lauer in particular, has been getting heaps of press since the beginning of the year – the bad kind. After getting blamed in the media for the firing of his former co-host, Ann Curry, Lauer dropped significantly in both public opinion and ratings. Naturally, that hurt the Today show and NBC, which has been struggling on most fronts lately.

It looks like nothing is working to fix the situation – not even Lauer and co-host Savanah Guthrie making light of the situation a couple of weeks ago at a luncheon at the New York Public Library. “I would like to tackle a teeny white elephant in the room,” Mr. Lauer said as many of the 400 people in the audience leaned in. “We hate being the news.” To that he added a valiant (if joking) attempt to defend Guthrie, saying that: “From the bottom of my heart, I promise to spend all my time and energy the next several weeks and months trying to keep Savannah out of the headlines,” Mr. Lauer said. His jocular remark drew appreciative laughter.

Continue reading: Today Show Recap: Cooper, Lauer And The Story So Far

Anderson Cooper – as a prominent and gay figure in the media – was handed a gay media watchdog honour last night by staunch campaigner for equality, Madonna.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself," said the singer, denouncing homophobic bullying, which can ruin lives. "It's an atrocity to me, and I don't accept it," she added, before handing the Vito Russo Award to Cooper. “I am only here tonight because I've benefited from what they and so many others have done," he said, having been openly gay since last summer, and referring to activists like Russo and Larry Kramer. He added: "being gay is certainly one of the greatest blessings" of his life, saying that "it opened my head and heart in ways that I never could have predicted." Previous winners of the award are Suze Orman, Rosie O'Donnell, Elton John and Tom Ford. The ceremony doesn’t only celebrate those who are openly gay in the media, and help make strides for equality, but it also outs the openly homophobic or closed-minded. Film director Bret Ratner received the ignoble Ally Award – not a coveted prize – after he used a derogatory word for homosexuals during a press conference surrounding the Oscars almost a year ago.

Anderson Cooper and Madonna at the awards

Continue reading: Madonna Hands TV Journalist Anderson Cooper The Vito Russo Award

Just when you thought you’d seen the back of internet viral dance crazes, as the memory of Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ fades into the near-distant past, along comes The Harlem Shake. And it’s not just online, folks. It’s taking over our televisions. Anderson Cooper’s team made him do the Harlem Shake in a team meeting for Anderson Live (“it made me so uncomfortable,” said Cooper). The Today Show anchors have been at it, too, with a Valentine’s-themed Harlem Shake.

So just what is the Harlem Shake and how did it become so popular? The music contained in the video is by New York producer Baauer, notable for its elements of rave and dubstep. Reports of the origin of the craze differ. Wikipedia awards the accolade of starting the craze to YouTube user Filthy Frank. Most of the copycat video (and there have been quite a few) tend to start with just one person in a group dancing along to the tune and then, when the bass drops, the entire group start dancing. Unlike the Gangnam Style videos though, there appears to be no set dance to do along to the Harlem Shake.

According to New York Daily News, 12,000 Harlem Shake videos have been uploaded to YouTube, with over 44 million views attributed to them. 

Continue reading: Just What Is The 'Harlem Shake' And How Did Anderson Cooper Get Caught Up In It?

Star Jones is captured on camera here during the National Day of Service, as part of President Barack Obama’s inaugural weekend. National Day Of Service is a celebration of voluntary work and a means to encourage the American people to give up their time for people who need their assistance. The former host of the View was caught posing for the cameras at the National Mall in Washington DC, ahead of an interview in which she discusses her voluntary work with the American Heart Association. 

Watch Star Jones posing for cameras, at National Day of Service

Continue reading: Star Jones Is The Lady In Red At National Day Of Service, Washington (Video)

This time of year must be starting to feel a little like Groundhog Day for Kathy Griffin. Every year that she appears on CNN’s New Year’s Eve special, with her pal Anderson Cooper, she does something controversial, winds up half of America in the process, then refuses to apologize for it. CNN are no fools, of course. They know that Kathy’s going to do something vaguely outrageous if there’s a camera rolling in the near vicinity and they know that she’ll divide opinion; that’s what gets the ratings in. This year (just in case you missed the news), Kathy chose to attempt to shove her head into Anderson’s crotch to kiss his ‘crown jewels.’

Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman, Griffin said “my mother was livid, my mom was livid again. People are tweeting things like ‘I didn’t even watch the show but now I have to explain to my children what you did.’” Unaplogetic, then, as ever.

This latest Griffin-related media storm, however, hasn’t put the Bravo channel off of their decision to allow Kathy her own live talk show. In fact, they’re probably glad of the attention that her appearance on CNN has generated in the comedian. Kathy will air on Bravo on January 10, at 10pm EST.

Hmm, seems not everyone was laughing at Kathy Griffin's little skit with Anderson Cooper during CNN's New Year's Eve coverage on Monday evening (December 31, 2012). In case you're one of the few people who haven't yet watched the YouTube footage, the veteran comedienne got down on her knees and pretended to - ahem - pleasure her openly gay best friend. On live television.

Cooper looked pretty uncomfortable, though Griffin seemed to be having a great time and made reference to the incident on numerous occasions. The on-screen pairing of Cooper and Griffin is becoming somewhat of a New Year's Eve tradition, though the comedienne seems to do something stupid every time. In 2009 she swore, last year she attempted to strip down to her underwear. This year was perhaps her most shocking routine yet, and Twitter users across American really let her have it. One said, "I'm not fond of Anderson Cooper, but I can't imagine what he did to deserve being paired with Kathy Griffin. Did he eat a baby?" Another said, "Anderson Cooper is great. Kathy Griffin is so so awful." The general consensus appeared to be that the double-act is getting pretty tired, summed up by one user who said, "Kathy Griffin: 'Something something blah blah blah!' Anderson Cooper: 'That's not true.' Repeat x 1000."

Watch the awkwardness unfold for yourself, below:

Continue reading: Stoop Too Low? Twitter Backlash Over Kathy Griffin's NYE Antics

Taylor Swift performs at New Year's Rockin' Even in Times Square, NY. She wasn't just making headlines for her singing though...

They became two of the biggest pop stars in the world during 2012, so it was only fitting that Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen were on hand to bring the curtain down on 2012 at the famous New Year's Rockin' Eve televised event in New York's Times Square. Perhaps the real success of the night however was the ABC's host Ryan Seacrest who - with help from Jenny McCarthy - did the late great Dick Clark proud in hosting proceedings in the first Rockin' Eve to be held since the veteran's death last year.  

Continue reading: PICTURES: Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen And Ryan Seacrest Honor Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve In Style

Kathy Griffin caused outrage during CNN's Live New Year's Eve coverage on Monday (January 31, 2012), attempting to simulate oral sex on her openly gay friend Anderson Cooper. Griffin, who swore during her 2009 broadcast, referred to Cooper's genitalia early in the show, before later getting down on her knees.

According to the New York Daily News, Cooper told Griffin about Twitter suggestions that the two play a drinking game whenever he giggled at one of Griffin's jokes. The comedienne said, "I'm going to tickle your sack. You can say sack [on air] That's not bad." Cooper stammered, "I don't know what you're talking about. I have no sack of gifts here. A sack of Christmas presents. I did not bring a sack of Christmas presents," though Griffin replied, "Do you call your private parts your Christmas presents. Typical hot guy."

The exchange led to the eventual 'incident' just after midnight, when Anderson handed over to reporter Gary Tuchman in Eastport, Maine, where it is tradition to kiss a sculpture of a sardine that drops from the top of a building. However, when the camera cut back to Cooper and Griffin, the comedienne was trying to get at his crotch. "Did you drop something," he asked. "No, I was kissing your sardine. I can do this all night long," she replied.

Continue reading: Kathy Griffin Tickles Anderson Cooper's "Sack", Live On CNN

Spencer Cox, one of the most celebrated AIDs and HIV activists in the world has died of complications with his own battle with the disease - he was 44.

Cox, the co-founder of of activist organisation TAG (Treatment Action Group) and a spokesman for ACT UP (both major HIV/ AIDS organisations in the USA), ended his long-running battle with the AIDs virus earlier today at Columbia Presbyterian hospital. Following his death, Anderson Cooper, a fellow AIDs campaigner, discussed at length the work and effort applied by the man to raise awareness about the plight cause by the horrendous disease on Anderson Live.

Likewise, his death has been met with a barrage of farewells on Twitter, with Cooper leading the cries. He wrote "#SpencerCox, a heroic AIDS activist, died today. The work he did saved so many lives and will continue to." Likewise, actress Rosie Perez and author Laurie Garrett also offered their condolences to the late activists. Rosie posted: "TY all who watched @andersonlive today & your great tweets! Appreciate all of them. Especially the ones regarding #SpencerCox tribute #AIDS," Whilst Garrett added a rather more peeved sending off with, "Spencer Cox is dead & I'm infuriated."

Continue reading: Spencer Cox Dies: Influential AIDs Activist Spencer Cox Remembered

It's not been a great year for Anderson Cooper, his show Anderson Live was axed and now he's revealed via Twitter that he spent almost two days last week blind.

The tweet was accompanied by a photo of himself with an eye patch, and said: "Temporarily blinded last week while on assignment.UV light bouncing off water. Much better now."

New York Daily News reports that he explained that the blindness was due to a report he did in Portugal last week. While working on a story for '60 Minutes' he spent two hours out on the ocean, which meant he had strong sun rays coming at him from all direction, due to the water's reflection.

Continue reading: Anderson Cooper Sports An Eyepatch Having Gone Blind For 36 Hours

Yesterday (29th Oct. 2012) Anderson Live, the daytime chat show eponymously hosted by Anderson Cooper, was officially cancelled. Ratings for the news anchor's show just never really kicked off. Format changes, including a name change from just 'Anderson' to 'Anderson Live', were clearly not enough to nudge it into nationwide popularity. 

Reported in the Chicago Tribute, Cooper said "I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons," and added that he looked forward "to doing more great shows this season ... I'm sorry that we won't be continuing." This followed the statement made by WarnerBros, stating "The series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become difficult to break through." Anderson Live was competing with mid-day heavyweights such as Ellen Degeneres' 'Ellen', Dr Phil's 'Dr Phil' nor Katie Couric's 'Katie' (all imaginatively titled, as you can see). 

It's not the end of the world for Cooper who will still continue hosting his news program 'Anderson 360'. His career history includes international journalism, a lot of which was war reporting, including an award winning report from Sarajevo during the Bosnian war. A lot of his work is referred to in his 2006 memoir Dispatches From the Edge. 

Telepictures (the syndicated division of Warner Bros) have called time on Anderson Cooper's daytime chat show. According to LA Times, the CNN news personality's show, Anderson Live, will be no more, after its second season. 

The news broke on Friday (October 26, 2012), as Warner Bros executives began communicating the news to their associated TV stations. In a statement, Warner Bros said "We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced... While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through. We will continue to deliver top-quality shows throughout next summer."

Anderson Live has faced significant competition from daytime pros such as Dr. Phil and new shows from the likes of Ricki Lake and Katie Couric. The show will end after its summer 2013 season. In a separate statement from Cooper himself, he said "I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons... I am also grateful to Telepictures for giving me the opportunity, and indebted to viewers, who have responded so positively. I look forward to doing more great shows this season, and though I'm sorry we won't be continuing, I have truly enjoyed it."

Continue reading: The Show Can't Go On: Anderson Cooper's Live Gets The Chop

Anderson Live, the daytime television show from Anderson Cooper, will not be renewed for a third season, according to the Los Angeles Times. Warner Bros executives began telling stations of their decision on Friday (October 26, 2012).

The CNN news personality - who recently came out as gay - began hosting the daytime show in 2011 (then titled Anderson), though it failed to generate solid numbers. A number of changes were swiftly put into place, including a new name and a live studio audience, though it's done little to change the fortunes of the show. In defence of Cooper, a crowd of new talk shows from the likes of Katie Couric, Steve Harvey, Jeff Probst and Ricki Lake haven't made things any easier. In its most recent week, Anderson Live pulled in just 1.45 million viewers, putting it well behind the likes of Dr Phil. "We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced," said a Warner Bros. spokesperson, adding, "While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through. We will continue to deliver top-quality shows throughout next summer."

The show will wrap up after the summer of 2013, with Warner Bros set to roll out the likes of Bethenny, starring Bethenny Frankel, instead. 

Continue reading: Where Did It All Go Wrong For Anderson Cooper?

Anderson Cooper is not convinced by Bristol Palin’s ‘meltdown’ on Dancing With the Stars. Bristol was shown having an argument with her dance partner Mark Ballas, accusing him of not wanting her as his dance partner for the show and for not showing up for rehearsals. Of course, the episode was filmed and shown to the public. Anderson and his co-host Deborah Norville simply weren’t convinced that the ‘meltdown’ (as it has been portrayed in the media) was anything more than a desperate appeal for sympathy from Palin.

“Anybody who's on a reality show now knows that to get attention you have to take it to another level,” said Cooper. “You need to have a wardrobe malfunction, you need to pass out, you need to throw up, you need to have a fight, you need to have a break down. You need a storyline.” It certainly looks as though that’s the angle that 21 year-old Palin is going for and frankly, who can blame her, because it seems to have worked. All of the DWTS headlines since Sunday’s show have been more concerned with Bristol and Mark’s relationship than any of the actual dancing that took place over the weekend.

Anderson and Deborah went on to mock Bristol’s frozen expression and apparent lack of genuine emotion during the awkward clip that they played of the pair having a disagreement. Cooper then slammed Palin, suggesting she should simply stop doing TV work: I'm thinking of starting a job fair for people… I think there's a whole bunch of people who just need to get jobs: Lindsay Lohan, Bristol Palin… I think they just need to get some jobs, stop being on TV.” Oops – looks like that sympathy appeal may be floundering, Bristol.

Anderson Cooper has lashed out at Star Jones over her allegations that he came out as gay simply to boost viewer ratings for his show. In a segment that he was filming for Anderson Live, with the Bravo star Andy Cohen, Cooper did not hold back when it came to explaining exactly what he thought of Star – the lawyer, journalist and TV personality. In his defence, Anderson explained that he wasn’t even on the air at the time that his sexuality became public knowledge and insists that if he’d been doing it for added publicity, he’d have done it on the Anderson Cooper show, and made sure that he’d advertised the big announcement for weeks leading up to it!

TMZ have hosted the footage of Anderson saying to Andy “I haven't thought about Star Jones in I don't know how long. I was unaware she was even on TV still ... but she apparently shows up on a morning show. Out of the blue Star Jones ... said this was a ratings ploy by me to boost ratings… If I was wanting to boost ratings, I would have waited to announce it on 'A Very Special Episode' that would have been promo'd for weeks and weeks and there would have been commercials ... 'Anderson's Huge Announcement.’

Then Cooper got personal, saying “As memory serves, in terms of boosting ratings, I seem to recall [Star] hocking her wedding every single day to get free products when she was on 'The View' and I seem to recall her lying about her gastric bypass surgery and making everybody else lie about it as well. So for her to suddenly emerge out of the shadows and suddenly attack me for this, I couldn't believe it.” He also revealed that he invited Star onto the show to chat but she turned him down. “I would think she would want as much publicity as possible given her penchant for wanting publicity,” he commented. Looks like Anderson had the last word there!