• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 1, 2010

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution's effort to turn CNN news star "Anderson Cooper" into the next big daytime syndication talk show host is an interesting play.

Here's a personality known for his hard-core news efforts -- especially with his CNN prime-time show "Anderson Cooper 360" -- willing to work in the lighter-topic daytime periods, when the subject matter can range from the guilty-pleasure frivolous to the entertainingly ugly.

We can be assured this isn't going to be a daytime cable TV news-like shout-fest.

The pitch seems to be that Cooper will be covering whatever any other daytime talk show personality has done. This is a different spin from recent male-oriented daytime hosts with a doctor-like, clinical emphasis -- "Dr. Phil," "Dr. Oz," and "The Doctors."

You can feel Warner Bros.' confidence. Looking to sell the show as a cash-plus barter arrangement for stations is a bold statement, since cash license fees have been falling of late, even for the top-rated daytime syndicated shows. Had "Oprah" not announced her retirement, industry executives say the Cooper show would have been hard-pressed not to lower its station cash-license fees.

Most intriguing will be the marketing of the show. Warner Bros. might seem to spin the gloss of a serious, respected news journalist as opposed to the fluff many afternoon syndicated shows seem to tout. (Not that Cooper doesn't know how to have fun. He has done plenty of guest hosting on "Live with Regis & Kelly.")

What might this look like? Television stations will hope for a show more like the early, straightforward days of a Phil Donahue and Geraldo -- and less of the current circus elements of a Jerry Springer or Maury Povich.