Related Post
CNN anchor Jim Acosta is reportedly considering quitting the broadcaster after being demoted from his prized 10 am show and threatened with banishment to the ‘Siberia’ of broadcasting.
On Thursday, rumors that Acosta has lost his morning show were confirmed by CNN boss Mark Thompson as 200 layoffs in the TV division were announced.
He’ll be replaced at that time by The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown.
Acosta is in talks with CNN bosses about another as yet unconfirmed role.
‘We are in active discussions with Jim about a new time slot and will have more information to share soon,’ a network spokesman said.
But claims the anti-Trump anchor is destined for a graveyard slot at midnight are said to have him pondering his future.
The LA Times reported that Acosta may now ‘exit the network, according to people familiar with his thinking.’
Meanwhile, Fox News reported that Acosta is ‘getting hosed’ inside CNN’s offices over his ‘shocking’ demotion.
An insider suggested that accepting a midnight-to-2 am slot is his ‘only path forward’ at the network.
Acosta’s 10 am ratings are good – but his notorious past clashes with Donald Trump are said to have made network bosses nervous as Trump begins his second term as president.
His verbal sparring matches with the administration and the president himself saw him lose his press pass at one point, before CNN successfully sued for breach of constitutional rights to get it back.
However, network chiefs are said to be keen to water down the theatrics and believe moving Acosta to, ‘the Siberia of television’, is the way to do it.
Jim Acosta has lost his prized 10am slot and is now said to be considering quitting the network
The LA Times also reported how Acosta’s proposed midnight show would mean he’d report to the LA bureau, rather than the Washington office close to his home.
The new timings would mean that the anchor is on air between 9 and 11 pm PT, which is primetime on the West Coast.
However, sources said the fallout has been swift, with CNN boss Mark Thompson ‘apoplectic’ details from the private conversation have been leaked.
Several other staffers are said to be furious with the proposals, which they view as bending the knee to Trump.
Acosta’s relationship with the president was so sour during the first term that the White House revoked his press pass in 2018 after a heated clash.
That decision was later challenged when Acosta and CNN presented it in front of a federal judge.
Acosta’s back-and-forth with Trump went viral, and resulted in Trump telling him to ‘sit down’, while aides wrestled the mic from his hands.
CNN boss Mark Thompson is said to be keen to avoid some of the dramatics which characterized Acosta’s relationship with President Trump during his first term
Acosta has a tempestuous relationship with Trump, who previously branded him ‘fake news’ over his robust questioning during press conferences
Trump said: ‘CNN should be ashamed of itself having you work for them. You are a rude terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.’
Then, during a separate press conference in 2020, Acosta said: ‘Mr. President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes.’
‘Let me tell you about your record, your record is so bad you ought to be ashamed of yourself,’ Trump shot back. ‘You have the worst record in the history of broadcasting.’
On another occasion, Acosta asked Trump: ‘What do you say to critics who say that you are creating a national emergency? That you’re concocting a national emergency here to get your wall.’
Trump snapped back: ‘Your question is a very political question because you have an agenda. You’re CNN. You’re fake news.’
Acosta’s move is the latest in a series of shake ups the network is reportedly considering, and would pave the way for longtime anchor Wolf Blitzer, 76, to slide into a new morning timeslot to replace him.
