Anderson Cooper agreed to give up his job as an ABC News correspondent in order to host an upcoming primetime reality show, The Mole, the New York Times reported today (Monday). "It was made clear to Mr. Cooper's representatives ... that once he crossed the line, he could not go back to ABC News," the Times observed, citing unnamed people at the network. In an interview with the newspaper, Cooper remarked, "Certainly, after all of the things that were said and written about Julie Chen who doubled as a news reader on CBS's morning news program and the host of Big Brother I knew it would mean leaving ABC News."

Source: Studio Briefing