Anchors

• Katie Couric to narrate PBS docu on Walter Cronkite. No one ever said she's not clever. [B&C;]
• Why does Bush likes to pick on the Times? Because of the Jews, of course. [SFChron]
• The New Yorker rock critic Sasha Frere-Jones wants to be a rocker, too. [LAWeekly]
• September VF will focus on fashion, be as fat as Vogue. [WWD]

As you know, we've recently discovered some mixed emotions about our beloved Anderson. Now the Observer's TV queen, Rebecca Dana, reports that it seems the rest of the world has conflicted feelings on him, too. How so? Well, he's indisputably a star -- VF coverboy, bestselling author, new 60 Minutes correspondent, Details columnist, Yale commencement speaker. But there's a catch: Turns out barely anyone is actually watching his TV show. Some numbers, as accumulated by Dana, after the jump.

The Coop was scheduled to speak at the 92nd Street Y tonight. But his talk has now been cancelled, because bad weather has prevented him from flying back from his most recent reporting assignment, in New Orleans. We're tempted compliment the FAA on the impressive work its officials are no doubt doing to keep planes and passengers safe, and to get them to their destinations as soon as possible, but we won't. Becauase we realize that to listen to people thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, we got to tell you, there are a lot of people there who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated. And we get the anger that's there.

Anderson Cooper Will Be Here Thursday [92Y.org]

• Anderson's Angelina interview is "a watershed moment in the history of CNN." Huh. And we thought it was just kind of boring. [LAT]
• Connie Chung has no regrets -- well, at least too few to mention -- about her "Thanks for the Memories" farewell. Probably because she's the only person who hasn't had to watch it repeatedly. [TV Guide]
• Dan Rather still eats lunch. [Media Mob/NYO]
• NYP business reporter Tim Arango wants to be on TV. Oh, honey, don't we all? [Jossip]

We just want make sure you know that our beloved Coopie will be Jon Stewart's guest on The Daily Show tonight. This is, in itself, not terribly newsworthy, as Anderson has long been willing to appear on just about any talk show or magazine cover that will have him, and that habit has become even more pronounced now that he has a book to promote.

But here's the thing. The Daily Show juggernaut has recently placed itself as strong advocates of gay rights and gay marriage. Recall Jon's extended attack on Bill Bennett two weeks ago over the gambling moralist's opposition to gay marriage. And consider Stephen Colbert's mockery last night of Wall Street Journal deputy editorial-page editor Dan Henninger's comment that, "A woman in India last week married a snake. I would like to ask the proponents of gay marriage--which violates, after all, traditions going back through all of human history--to now absolutely, positively guarantee that the next movement is not going to be allowing people to marry their pet horse, dog or cat." And then wonder: So how many questions do you think do you think Jon will ask about Julio?

Anderson Cooper Pays a Visit to Jon Stewart [The Book Standard]
Related:
Jon Stewart Tears Open Bill Bennett On Gay Marriage [Boing Boing]
Wall Street Journal Opinion Editor Says Gay Marriage Could Lead to Marrying Snakes [Raw Story]

• Dan Rather says farewell and that he'll see us all soon. [Romenesko]
• Charlie Gibson doesn't care about ratings. Ya-huh. [WP]
• Michael Wolff doesn't like Slate because it's "by and for smart boys trying strenuously to be ever smarter than anyone they perceive as threatening their smartest status." Ironic, eh? [Slate]

OK, so Dan Rather is leaving CBS, and word is he'll most likely be joining Mark Cuban's HDNet -- a cable network available only to people with HDTVs. Rather told the Times' Jacques Steinberg over the weekend that he also had two offers from "major broadcast or cable networks." As there's no obvious reason he'd go to a network with no existing news division and distribution to only 3 million homes, we've got to assume it's just because Rather really, really wants to appear in high definition. But why?

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

OK, so our mole was almost right. This morning, both CBS and Dan Rather's agent issued statements that the wacky newsman, a CBS News vet for 44 years and anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, will be leaving the network. Because, hey, after you've given your entire career to one company, you'd expect them to throw you over when you screw up once and the wingnuts demand your scalp.

Dan Rather Signs Off [CBSNews.com]
Rather Leaves CBS News [Public Eye]
Earlier: Will Today Be Dan Rather's Last at CBS?

This just in:

mole: it's going to be a big afternoon at CBS News
gawker: what's the cbs goss?
mole: i can't tell you
mole: but you could figure it out

Is Katie about to wemple? Nah, our guess is that it's the announcement of Dan Rather's final, formal departure from the network.

And, because it now seems obligatory: You're a better man than we are, Gunga Dan.

• Ted Turner sells his memoir for $4.5 million; David Carr sells his for $300k. [NYP]
• You shall bow before Katie and Anderson, because they are royalty. [National Journal]
• Brad is Esquire's October cover. Brad doesn't want to talk about whether he cheated on Jen. Did Esquire agree to restrictions? [WWD]

• Fortune editor to co-write Alan Greenspan's memoir. He's say he's excited, but that might be viewed as irrationally exuberant. [NYT]
• And Ted Turner will likely have a memoir coming, too. [NYP]
• More and more newspaper advertising is shifting to web. Um, duh. [NYT]
• Elizabeth Vargas needed that anchor chair like a fish needs a bicycle. Honest. [Phil. Inq.]

We held off on mentioning this, because we thought maybe we had it recorded on a TiVo somewhere, and we were waiting for the oompa loompas to dig it up. But it turns out we don't and so instead we'll just tell you. On 360° last night, as quite a few of you rushed to inform us, the big AC went back to New Orleans, where, judging by the pictures we were sent, he auditioned for the Village People. Then he went for a ride in a "mancage." Blogger and old pal Reference Tone, who saw the segement, noted that Coopie "seemed very excited about it" and "really likes to say 'mancage.'" Some examples:

Literally, this is what they call the mancage. It's attached to a giant crane. I'm actually going to get inside it and go over the 17th Street Canal.

A little bit later on we're going to take you up in that mancage.

I've got to put on this equipment, because we're going to go into what's called a mancage right here.

The mancage is used to take people everyday, to take the workers.

Welcome back. We've just gotten out of the mancage.

Sigh. He's always out of the mancage by the time we get there.

Anderson Cooper Enters the Mancage [Reference Tone]

So why did HarperCollins give Anderson Cooper $1 million for his not particularly insightful and not particularly well-reviewed memoir? Because last week, the week it was published, at was the bestselling nonfiction hardcover book in the country, moving some 38,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan. Even that number, however, doesn't make Dispatches From the Edge the No. 1 overall book for the week. (It was No. 6.) And the anchor's memoir didn't even summit the nonfiction or biography sublists, both of which saw the paperback of Elie Wiesel's Night, recently Oprah-certfied, triumph. But we suspect Anderson is just fine with that: From what we understand, he prefers not to be on top.

Anderson Cooper Almost Comes Out on Top [Book Standard]

• Remember how Women's Wear reported last week that Mort Zuckerman's doesn't like how he's characterized in onetime News editor Ed Kosner's forthcoming memoir? Well, he still doesn't. And now he's demanding corrections. [NYP]
• OK! America is now apparently doing OK in America. [Guardian]
• Charlie Gibson knows he's old, and he hopes he doesn't get hit by a truck. [Newsweek]
• Ellen Levine got to pick her Good Housekeeping replacement: Prevention's Rosemary Ellis. [WWD]
• Obligatory Romenesko-isn't-working-today-but-we- still-are post. [Romenesko]

The new memoir from our favorite CNN anchor was finally published this week -- oh, you thought it was just a coincidence he was interviewed everywhere from Oprah to EW? -- and we'd like to direct your attention to the book's acknowledgements. Most are professional in nature -- editors, agents, the like -- but one doesn't quite fit that mold. On page 212:

I'd like to thank Julio for his support and calm counsel without which this book would not have been possible.

Acknowledgements, indeed.

Dispatches From the Edge [Amazon]

Our friends at Jossip are on location in Chicago this week, where naturally they're doing things they don't do on Broadway. Among those things: Watching Oprah at 9 a.m., its timeslot in Ms. Winfrey's home market. Today's big interview with Anderson Cooper won't air for another four hours here in New York, but little Jossie generously provides a sneak peak -- from which we learn that, apparently, nothing interesting transpires.

Anderson talks about his brother's suicide. Anderson comes from a fancy family. Gratuitous emoter Oprah admits her fondness for the gratuitous emotion of Anderson. Yada yada yada. It doesn't sound like Anderson says anything he hasn't said before -- you know, whatever that might be -- nor does it sound like Oprah pushes him to break any new ground. Well, except for this: "My brother and I used to wear costumes all the time.... We were obsessed."

Yes, "obsessed" is one word for it.

Laughing and Crying With Anderson Cooper and Oprah [Jossip]

We were directed earlier today to the Wikipedia bio for MSNBC host Dan Abrams, which contains some awfully surprising news at its very tail end:

It's particularly unfortunate timing: Between last night's Ellies shutout and now this, Zinczenko must be heartbroken.

Dan Abrams [Wikipedia]
Wikipedia: MSNBC's Dan Abrams Dating Keith Olbermann [Junger's World]

An ad on CNN.com:

Later in the month, we're told Bill Hemmer will swing through, looking for shoplifters, followed by Rita Crosby, on the trail of double-parkers. Because news anchors to keep America safe.

Nancy Grace [CNN.com]