Danger and tragedy lure writer who is shaped by loss himself

Anderson Cooper, CNN's 39-year-old rising news star, seems the opposite of the stereotypical, pontifical newsman with a deep voice — think Kent Brockman from "The Simpsons" or Ted Baxter from the "Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Cooper presents a warm, even gentle image on television — and also when he's speaking by phone interview from Washington, D.C.

His book, "Dispatches from the Edge," is a thoughtful collection of his travels and interviews in dangerous places — Iraq, Niger, Somalia, Rwanda, New Orleans after Katrina. A reporter for 15 years for Channel One, ABC and CNN, Cooper has witnessed horrendous scenes that he headlines "loss and grief."

Although he is promoted heavily for his late-evening two-hour block of news and analysis, "Anderson Cooper 360," he is self-effacing in the interview. Cooper insists that Wolf Blitzer, Lou Dobbs and Larry King are just a few of CNN's personalities who are more important than him.

In fact, in his early days he was told more than once that he did not have either the looks or the voice for television. It was his unflagging pursuit of first-hand observation of international unrest, and the loss caused by wars and natural disasters that gave him what seems a secure berth on the CNN schedule.

His prematurely gray hair probably helps his image, since it is considered distinguished on men in our society. And he is unmarried.

In the midst of the mostly heavily scripted world of television, Cooper flies without a net. He spends his days in copious research, reading six newspapers a day, then shows up for the camera without a script. "It keeps it interesting," said Cooper. "It's important to listen to what a person is thinking. If everything is scripted, you're not going to get answers or an interesting interview. Keeping it open is best.

"I like to make an interview an actual conversation. And the yelling that goes on these days on Cable News? I just don't want to contribute to that. You don't need to raise your voice."

Cooper said he never pretends to know things he doesn't know. "I try to be myself as much as possible. The camera lens is very thin. If you try to be someone you're not, viewers will see through it. Besides, I have a lot to learn still."