Anderson Cooper is trading in disaster zones for daytime television and though he can’t guarantee he’ll be giving out cars, he promises to connect with his audiences in an “emotional and very real and authentic way.”

With “Oprah” gone and “Ellen” now in the daytime mix, re-shuffling of CTV’s afternoon programming will mean “Anderson” falls into the 5pm ET timeslot, after “Dr. Phil” and “Dr. Oz.”

“I want (“Anderson”) to be entertaining, but also informative and I think there’s a way to do both…You can really go in depth on stories in a way you can’t on an evening newscast.”

Cooper began his career as a war correspondent after a friend forged a press pass for him and over the last twenty years he has worked as a reporter for ABC News, “20/20,” “60 Minutes,” and CNN.

“It’s the difference between night and day,” he says about the differences between his news reporting and his new show, “Anderson.”

“On CNN we’re talking about politicians and pundits and covering the day’s news, on this, we’re going to be talking to real people behind the headlines.”

“It’s nice to exercise different muscles,” he says about moving away from his news-based work. “I want to have fun and I want the viewers to have fun.”

He’s recently interviewed Eminem, Simon Cowell and Lady Gaga (who he says is “really cool to hang around with”) and insists that being engaged by pop culture doesn’t dilute his journalistic integrity.

“I watch “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” as much as anyone else…and I don’t think it makes me any less credible that I’m also concerned and interested in what’s going on in Syria,” he says.

Cooper as storyteller

Cooper has always been fascinated with storytelling, though he admits, “figuring out what medium to tell that in is what took me a while.”

He credits the early encouragement of his family in privileging the power of words. “Being creative was really important in my house when I was growing up,” Cooper says.

His dad wrote screenplays, magazine articles and a book, and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress to the Vanderbilt fortune writes and paints and designs.

And though he’s found himself in disaster zones and conflicts around the world, most recently in a harrowing and dangerous situation in Egypt, Cooper says it’s finding the stories behind the headlines that is the most vital and invigorating part of his career.

“It’s when you’re able to tell stories about real people and connect with people in a very real way.

“That’s what I hope to do on this daytime show.”

News vs. daytime TV

Cooper doesn’t believe there has to be a dichotomy between the news world and the world of daytime television. “I think if Walter Cronkite was on TV today, he’d also have a sailing show on the travel channel,” he insists.

His resumé supports this, having worked on CNN and ABC News, as well as on “Oprah” and “Regis and Kelly,” and even two seasons of the reality show, “The Mole.”

“It’s very rewarding to be able to tell stories in different ways,” he says. “I think we’re in an environment where people relate to you as a real person. They know you’re not just this one-dimensional person in a trench coat, giving the news.”

Structure of show

“I’m going to be dangling from a cord,” Cooper jokes when asked about the format of his new show.

And though he won’t be partaking in aerial tricks (at least in the first few episodes) the show will be taped in front of a live audience at Time Warner Center in New York City. “We wanted an actual, space, a physical location,” he says about the studio that overlooks Columbus Circle.

“No shows these days really use the audience the way Phil Donahue used to,” he says. But he plans on changing this, interacting with his live audience in each episode. “I think viewers are better informed than every before…and more opinionated.”

From social issues, to pop culture, to celebrity interviews, Cooper wants to “bring the city into the studio.

“I think we’re all going to laugh a lot and it’s going to be fun to show more sides to myself.”

About Lindsay

Lindsay Zier-Vogel has been working for CTV.ca and covering So You Think You Can Dance Canada since 2008. In addition to interviewing the famed American choreographer Bill T. Jones and Canadian prima ballerina Karen Kain, Lindsay’s highlights include criss-crossing Canada on four SYTYCDC audition tours and covering the Juno Awards. Follow her on Twitter!