CNN is considering an obvious demotion for one of its highest-rating stars—who also happens to be a longtime target of Yambo. Bend the knee much, CNN? Via the Daily Beast:
CNN chief Mark Thompson called Jim Acosta on Wednesday to propose that his show, CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, be moved from its 10 a.m. ET time slot to midnight, according to the newsletter Status News.
“The move would effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news,” media reporter Oliver Darcy pointed out.
The proposal was made just as the CNN boss led a massive shakeup that involved moving Wolf Blitzer to mornings.
Acosta was told that the move was about accommodating the logistics of Blitzer’s new schedule and not about his ratings or editorial style. Thompson reportedly told Acosta that the 12 a.m. ET time slot would mean his show would air during prime time hours on the West Coast and be simulcast internationally.
Or is there more to the story?
“They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,” a media executive told Darcy. “Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.”
Acosta has a famously testy relationship with the president-elect, who he covered as a White House correspondent during the first Trump administration.
Trump had many tense interactions with the CNN anchor, at one point even calling him “a rude, terrible person.”
