Anderson Cooper leaves '60 Minutes' after nearly 20 years at CBS

Anderson Cooper is leaving CBS News' “60 Minutes” after nearly two decades. The decision comes in the wake of the latest personnel shakeup to hit the storied news network. It was learned that the anchor made the move to spend more time with his two young children "while they still want to spend time with me."

"Being a correspondent at ‘60 Minutes’ has been one of the great honors of my career. ... I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crews in the business," Cooper said in a statement reported by The New York Times.

Cooper thus becomes the latest high-profile journalist to leave CBS News since the arrival of Bari Weiss as the network's new editor-in-chief in October after Paramount Skydance bought her outlet, The Free Press.

"For more than two decades, Anderson Cooper has taken 60 Minutes viewers on journeys to faraway places, told us unforgettable stories, reported consequential investigations and interviewed many prominent figures," the network detailed in a statement.

"We’re grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family. 60 Minutes will be here if he ever wants to return," it added.