Trump critic Jim Acosta expected to leave CNN rather than accept move to midnight graveyard shift
Trump critic Jim Acosta expected to leave CNN rather than accept move to midnight graveyard shift
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Jim Acosta has long been a critic of Donald Trump, prompting many to wonder if an effort to exile him to late nights was an attempt to curry favor with the president. Despite being one of the most popular hosts on the ratings-challenged cable news channel, network chief Mark Thompson last week removed Acosta from his 10 a.m. weekday show to shake up the dayside lineup. The programming changes were announced the same day CNN laid off six percent of its workforce as the company looks to pivot to a digital-first approach.
Acosta is expected to address his future on his Tuesday broadcast, The Independent has learned. The offer, which Thompson made just days before Donald Trump took office, caught Acosta off guard as he was not under the impression that his show was in danger of being chopped. The CNN head, however, attempted to assure the anchor that the proposed move had nothing to do with his ratings or editorial stance, which has seen Acosta continue to be highly critical of the president even as the network has softened its approach to Trump since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Instead, Thompson said it was necessary to move Acosta to make room in the shifting lineup, which would see veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer jump from early evening to co-anchoring a two-hour morning block with Pamela Brown. Because of this, according to Thompson, the network needed to find an extra hour to free up — and Acosta’s show was the one that had to go.
Thompson also portrayed it as something of a promotion, pointing out that Acosta’s show would air in primetime on the West Coast and be simulcast by CNN International, where it would air in the mornings in London and Paris. Acosta was also told he could move to Los Angeles to host the program. Still, regardless of Thompson’s assurances, the fact is the time slot is when cable news viewership is at its nadir.
