Anderson Cooper’s days as a CNN anchor might be numbered. It is rumored that CBS News executives are very interested in Cooper, who already contributes to “60 Minutes,” the prestigious CBS newsmagazine.

CBS executives, mindful that Katie Couric’s contract expires in a little over a year, have talked to Anderson Cooper of CNN about an anchor job, according to two TV veterans informed of the meeting.

Cooper has worked at CNN since 2001 and has anchored the channel’s 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. hours since 2005.

It is unclear whether Mr. Cooper was (or is) being considered by CBS executives as a replacement for Couric, the anchor of the “CBS Evening News.” Her five-year contract ends in mid-2011.

Cooper had previously been mentioned as a contender for a morning show position on CBS. When he signed a new contract with CNN in 2007, the trade publication Broadcasting & Cable said he “had been courted by CBS to take over the reins of the network’s ratings-challenged morning newscast ‘The Early Show.’”

Erica Hill, the news anchor for Mr. Cooper’s CNN program, moved over to “The Early Show” six weeks ago.

I wonder if 50 years from now we will laugh at this video clip of of Anderson Cooper exploring a new medical marijuana distributor in California; the entire time, the uber-professional Cooper asks questions, states legal facts, and mentions that people might question the motives of someone who sells pot popsicles.