Working with Anderson Cooper (1994)

And the beginnings of his journey toward healing

Channel One News was a long-running ten-minute daily newscast — beamed by satellite to millions of high school students across the U.S.

It had high production value, thanks to a team of seasoned professionals making it all happen behind the scenes. (It was also controversial, due to its two minutes of glossy commercials: often for fast food, soda, and junk food.)

As a video editor, I was one of a multitude of people who helped put those shows together.

And over nearly a decade, I worked directly with much of that team — including up-and-coming on-air talent, some of whom would go on to greater things.

Channel One’s “Rwanda Special Edition,” in 1994, may have been the first time I worked with Anderson.

He was still in his mid-20s, and just starting out in “The Biz.” Nevertheless, even then, I was struck by his focus and determination … and professionalism.

He and segment producer Matt McFetridge had just gotten back from Rwanda, which for the prior few years, had been torn by a violent and bloody civil war.

So the two of them had gone there, to witness the devastation first-hand.

Just after their return, the three of us sat in a small editing room on the second floor above Channel One’s soundstage at Raleigh Studios (on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, across the street from Paramount).

And as I assembled the video of this “day of air” news story … with the added time pressure that deadline entailed … Matt and Anderson offhandedly brainstormed how they’d get in to their next war-torn country, perhaps this time in Europe.

While I was mostly focused on the editing, I still had to marvel at how — while others might want to get OUT of a war-torn country — they were looking for another way to get IN.

It takes a special breed of human to do that.

Channel One: “Rwanda Special Edition”
Air date: 5/11/94

>> WARNING: Contains scenes of GRAPHIC HARM <<

It turned out there was an underlying purpose to some of Anderson’s travels.

Many years later, he eventually opened up about his brother’s death at an earlier age (and his mother’s death at a later age), and how it motivated him to seek out and understand suffering, loss, and resilience — first-hand.

Given that context, the Rwanda special may be an important historical document about Anderson’s early development as a journalist … as well as his journey toward healing.

Text © 2026 Ron Diamond. All rights reserved.
Video news story & stills © 1994 Channel One News.

Other images/videos are either public domain, or © their respective owners.
Inclusion is intended as fair use under 17 U.S. Code § 107.