ASU to honor Anderson Cooper with Cronkite Award

Anderson Cooper, CNN Anchor, is this year’s recipient of the 2018 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University, the school announced Monday.

Cooper, anchor of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” and a correspondent for “60 Minutes” on CBS, will receive the 35th award at a luncheon ceremony on October 17 at the Sheraton Grand in Phoenix.

The award recognizes distinguished journalists who embody the values of the school’s namesake.

“I’m so honored and humbled to accept the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism,” Cooper said. “I’m proud to honor Mr. Cronkite’s legacy. He sparked my interest in journalism at a young age and remains a guiding star for generations of journalists.”

Cooper, who has nearly three decades of experience, has reported from more than 40 countries and has won 13 Emmys.

Other Cronkite Award recipients include TV news anchors Scott Pelley, Diane Sawyer, Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill; newspaper journalists Ben Bradlee, Helen Thomas and Bob Woodward; and media executives Katharine Graham, Al Neuharth and William Paley. Cronkite personally presented the award during its first quarter-century until his death in 2009.