Anderson Cooper To Jon Stewart On 'Daily Show': I Was 'Stunned' By Criticism Of Egypt Coverage (VIDEO)

Anderson Cooper appeared on "The Daily Show" Tuesday and told Jon Stewart he was "stunned" by the controversy his reporting about Egypt had caused in the past few weeks.

Cooper raised some eyebrows by repeatedly calling former President Hosni Mubarak and his government "liars." The L.A. Times' James Rainey wrote a blog post saying that, while he found no fault with any of the claims Cooper had made about Mubarak, his tone began sounding "a little one-note" and veered too close to outright opinion journalism. And Fox News' Liz Trotta said that she found Cooper's coverage "shocking" and that it "wasn't his purview" to call Mubarak a liar.

Stewart told Cooper that he had been amazed that his reporting had caused controversy. "I was stunned by it," Cooper said, adding that it was "really weird. I'm not big on calling people names, or I try not to take political stands, but based on facts the guy's lying."

Stewart wondered if the issue was not with Cooper but with "modern journalism," and asked jokingly if Cooper had to bring on a guest who believed Mubarak was not a liar and "also believes ice cream cures cancer" to achieve balance. Cooper said that people were often "afraid to say that something that is demonstrably not true is not true...I'm not quite sure why so many people kind of shy away from that."

Stewart closed out the interview by admitting that he worries about Cooper when he goes to unsafe places.

"When I see you in a dangerous place, I just really want to give you a big hug," he said, prompting an "awww" from Cooper.

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Comments

[Matt12]

10:12 PM on 02/27/2011

too much editorial, not enough reporting

[xbrwn83]

01:39 AM on 03/01/2011

Exactly. Nothing wrong with reporting & sticking to facts to let the audience decide for themselves. Anyone watching the videos released of Mubarak & Suleiman's speeches can see whats true & what isnt, sans editorials.

The problem with journalism today is 2 fold. Unethical, bias journalists feeding misinformation to influence opinion, votes, government ect... things that have adverse affects on populations of people. And lazy viewers who get caught up in news personalities and get all their info from one source (a tv show). They cant think for themselves or be bothered to learn & figure anything out on their own. They need talking heads to tell them what to think & believe by creating "heroes" & "villains" of fairy tales they make up from the most exploitable aspects of a given news story.

[mansterEZ]

03:54 PM on 02/27/2011

To call someone a liar in public, especially on mass media, up to the Joe Wilson accusation has been unacceptable. Now it's all hands on board; or is it? The truth will set you free? NOT! To call someone a liar is subjective, but what if it is based on scientific fact? Does that make it objective? Was Edward R Murrow a journalist or a pundit? Walter Cronkite? Charlie Rose? Peter Jennings? Can anything be reported avoiding subjectivity? Anything is misrepresented by only reporting some of the facts. Just ask Shirley Sherrod.

[emperance]

05:31 PM on 02/27/2011

An honest journalist would never call anyone a "liar" on-air, or in association with his/her broadcasting duties.

It's NEVER acceptable (although I understand journalism AIN'T what it used to be).

And the minute one does it, he/she loses their JOURNO CRED >>> PERIOD.

[Eveline]

10:28 PM on 02/26/2011

A lot of hate from the armchair heroes in the comments here. Sad.

[emperance]

03:45 PM on 02/27/2011

OPINIONS >>>> Folks are allowed to have them.

[logic-a-go-go]

10:36 PM on 02/25/2011

Cooper is right. The truth does not always fall in the middle of two accounts. Sometimes one of the parties is telling the truth, and the other is outright lying. If evidence supports that one is lying, that is the fact of the matter, and that is how it should be reported. Kudos to Cooper for outstanding and honest journalism. We need much, much more of this integrity in reporting.

[xbrwn83]

04:10 PM on 02/26/2011

Ridiculous. Over 80 million people live in egypt but only 1 million protested as cameras were on them in freedom square exclusively. There were other pro-gov't demonstrations by non-violent unpaid non-"thug" gov't supports that just wanted stability fearing they would starve if the protests dragged on. They feared Elbaradei would open up their gov't to the muslim brotherhood. Feared their lives could become worse with new leadership.

In a democracy these people should have a voice too. It makes Cooper all the more hypocritical and civil war mongering by stifling them.

Cooper only admitted they exist when he was on David Letterman (youtube it) referring to them as egyptans who want stability. On AC360 he calls them thugs. The next afternoon when Mubarak was rumored to step down AC briefly admitted there were non-violent block parties supporting Mubarak elsewhere in egypt even on news he was stepping down.

You dont know this because AC NEVER covered this side properly on CNN. If Cooper had any integrity he wouldnt fear exploring this perspective on 360. Giving them equal time instead of vicariously joining the protesters as a US citizen & Vanderbilt heir living a decadent life. Their future is still uncertain and if things go badly will people blame AC for interfering, drawing a line labeling the protests opposition a bunch of thugs? Probably not. Because people are ill informed on the facts as it is thanks to his "journalism".

[Eveline]

11:00 PM on 02/26/2011

I myself really like Cooper and thought his reporting was informative, but from reading all of your comments it's pretty clear you very much loathe him and disagree with him about every issue. You seem to closely follow anything he does and leave dozens of comments about him. Why are you dedicating so much time and energy to a guy you hate?

I'm also rather confused by your admission that Mubarak is at the very least a "mild" dictator, but you still spend all this time making comments defending him, and being suspicious of the anti-Mubarak protesters.

[jaredbrain]

05:36 AM on 02/28/2011

you sure are happy defending a dictator who was in fact a liar. sorry if you enjoyed the abject poverty and suffering he helmed, but that's over now. freedom sucks too sometimes though, don't worry.

[BuckCarson]

04:44 PM on 02/25/2011

Got a pretty strong feeling that both these guys will be in early retirement as the world begins to see who progressives really are.

We are seeing the media *finally* transforming to reflect the real people in America.

[xbrwn83]

04:31 PM on 02/25/2011

Cooper will keep getting criticism for talking about honesty after turning into a fox news talking head spinning opinion as fact, with facial twiches & histrionics. Even revising history pretending "peaceful" egyptians didnt start a day of RAGE & al jazeer didnt livestream that rage. Any honest person can admit his tone changed & lost objectivity after he got roughed up. Instead of letting viewers decide for themselves with facts AC told everyone what to believe with accusations he can only get away with in a crumbling foreign regime. AC was no better than Mubarak deflecting the negative aspects of the protesters blaming it on Mubarak's regime when the prison breaks, vandalism & looting actually hurt the regime economically and occured in the 1st days while Mubarak's regime was caught offguard, his corrupt police still in riot gear not "infiltrating" the protests the way AC spun it.

Libya should put things in perspective for the world. There you have actual brave people that didnt need the absurdity of social networking to revolt. People whose lives are in real danger from an insane dictator willing to kill them to stay in power. Mubarak PALES in comparrison to Gadhafi. Yet even with actual proof of Gadahfi's violence, AC360's coverage of Libya also PALES in comparrison to the over the top drama AC made over egypt.

[Politixxx]

02:02 PM on 02/25/2011

I love Anderson. He's one of the best. On anothe note... very comical how they hinted around "fact" versus "fiction" ... a blurry line for many.... but not for Anderson.

[xbrwn83]

05:04 PM on 02/25/2011

You'd have to pay close attention and know a thing or two about politics & history to fully understand the context of every story Anderson does and see how he consistently blurs lines and leaves out information to tell the side of a story he wants to tell. It's very easy to see when he's reading off a teleprompter to get his information (he squints) and when he's speaking freestyle without understanding facts (he stumbles & stutters) and when he tells a strong exaggeration (lie) his pitch & annunciation changes.

When knowledgeable people like David Gergen come on who really know their stuff it humbles Anderson and really educates the viewers. But the viewers rarely pay attention to these experienced people because they adore Cooper oh so much. It's a shame people judge him by his looks and awkward clumsiness they find "cute" and not on the irresponsible "journalism" he conducts to emotionally manipulate and misinform the public.

[Politixxx]

10:44 PM on 02/25/2011

Why cant I like both, Davis Gergen and Anderspn Cooper. While I think Anderson is attractive, it has nothing do with why I like his approach to reporting a situation. There is more than one way to do things and you dont have to hate one to like the other... im just sayin

[emperance]

05:33 PM on 02/27/2011

(You'd have to pay close attention and know a thing or two about politics & history to fully understand the context of every story Anderson does and see how he consistent­ly blurs lines and leaves out informatio­n to tell the side of a story he wants to tell.)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

He's SOOOO slanted, and to me, it's quite apparent.

[walkerke]

06:57 PM on 02/24/2011

For the most part, I like AC, but I can't say I consider him a "journalist" or even a "reporter," especially not when the likes of Richard Engel are around. He's more the television equivalent of a feature writer. Hardcore journalism is meant to be completely objective, and while complete objectivity is a hard line to toe, using the term "liar" is far wide of the mark. It's a subjective label and hints at personal feelings. Besides, there are many ways to get the point across without using the label, namely with facts. You take something Mubarak said and then you refute it with facts to the contrary. That makes the name calling unnecessary, and that, I think, is the truer essence of journalism.

[xbrwn83]

07:42 PM on 02/24/2011

Absolutely true. Anderson Cooper is not a journalist. He is a superficial "personality" which is why he's getting a talk show more suited for his opinion and diatribe pieces. On a news station he squints at a teleprompter between airing his opinions on matters he doesnt know about and hasnt researched thoroughly enough to weigh in on, hence his experienced guests "teaching him" in vain. It gives the public a skewed view of facts similar to fox news.

That is what Jon Stewart doesnt get. But after all he's a comedian turned "journalist" ("personality") too after taking over the daily show that evolved into quasi-"journalism" read: heaving on mockery & light on a broader scope knowledge & facts (unless it can be used to humiliate fox). Thats something audiences dont get either.

Weeks later we still dont have any proof of the allegations AC made against Mubarak but we have more proof of what Gadhafi is doing to his people with little reporting coverage there.

[emperance]

08:30 PM on 02/24/2011

0"Anderson Cooper is not a journalist­. He is a superficia­l "personali­ty" which is why he's getting a talk show more suited for his opinion and diatribe pieces. On a news station he squints at a teleprompt­er between airing his opinions on matters he doesnt know about and hasnt researched thoroughly enough to weigh in on, hence his experience­d guests "teaching him" in vain. It gives the public a skewed view of facts similar to fox news.")

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SPOT ON.

A PERFECT ANALYSIS!

[emperance]

08:27 PM on 02/24/2011

He's not even close to ENGEL or RON ALLEN.

[zoiebear]

03:56 PM on 02/24/2011

Get used to it Anderson...you suckl!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[emperance]

03:12 PM on 02/24/2011

• How dare they critique "The Chosen One"?
• He is SOOOO full of himself, until he just can't imagined that he is not loved by ALL.

[Eveline]

12:07 AM on 02/27/2011

How did you get from basically "Mubarak said things demonstrably untrue, he is a liar, it should be perfectly normal for me to say so." to any of that?

[emperance]

03:47 PM on 02/27/2011

Because I watch AC's show.

[RockyMissouri]

02:27 PM on 02/24/2011

Anderson did not have to go to Egypt... I admire him...as far as Liz Trotta: typical Fox 'news' employee..

[maab76]

03:41 PM on 02/24/2011

But the contrast between Cooper and Richard Engel was blatantly dramatic. Seeing the faces of the Egyptians when Engel spoke to them in their dialect of the language was worth the price of cable for a year!

[RockyMissouri]

08:54 PM on 02/24/2011

I only saw Engel....I loved the wonderful spirit they all shared.. What was Cooper like? ( I don't watch him. I do think he is brave for going.)

[emperance]

03:47 PM on 02/27/2011

RON ALLEN, RON ALLEN, RON ALLEN.

Now ....... that's how it's done.

[emperance]

06:43 PM on 02/24/2011

The LA Times said basically THE SAME THING.

[larmarch5]

12:52 PM on 02/24/2011

No doubt other media "critics" will be stunned at Shepard Smith's take on the Koch vs Union conflict in WI.

[NostradamnIsuck]

11:52 AM on 02/24/2011

Stewart sits on the fence
Careful you don't get Glenn Becked
Right up the Palin

Basho

[GonzoLoungeLizard]

09:45 AM on 02/24/2011

Modern Journalism is taping something newsworthy with a video camera and putting it on the internet for the world to see. AC did that.

[inthedesert]

09:15 AM on 02/24/2011

I don't really view AC as a real reporter. Just as there are actors and there are "celebrities" who can't act but are famous anyway, AC is now just a celebrity "reporter". It's mostly about self-promotion with him rather than reporting what's happening in the world.

[GonzoLoungeLizard]

09:40 AM on 02/24/2011

He's a millionaire. I'm sure he sees no point in going out there and getting murdered.

[emperance]

03:13 PM on 02/24/2011

Couldn't agree more.