CNN Reportedly Set to Move Outspoken Trump Critic Jim Acosta to ‘Graveyard Shift’
CNN is reportedly shaking up its schedule by moving long-time news anchor and known Donald Trump critic Jim Acosta to “the graveyard shift.”
According to a report in former CNN reporter Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, CNN chief Mark Thompson allegedly called Acosta on Wednesday night (January 15) to deliver a “strange proposal” that caught the veteran broadcaster off guard.
“Thompson, I’m told, delivered the veteran journalist a sudden and strange proposal: Move your show to midnight and anchor it until 2am ET,” Darcy wrote, per Mediaite.com. Darcy claimed Acosta was taken aback by the request as “he had no reason to believe that his current show would be on the chopping block.”
Darcy went on to say that Acosta was told the line-up change “had nothing to do with his ratings or the editorial style of his show,” but rather it was a logistical move to accommodate a new morning schedule. He also claimed that Thompson “even pitched the graveyard shift as if it were something of a promotion for Acosta.”
Criticizing the proposed move, Darcy said that moving Acosta to midnight and the wee small hours (he’s currently on air at 10am) would “effectively exile [him] to the Siberia of television news,” noting that “virtually zero other hosts in the cable news business” occupy the midnight slot.
Darcy also spoke to an unnamed source, who stated that they believe the move might be CNN’s effort to appease President-elect Trump, whom Acosta has frequently clashed with over the years.
“They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,” the source claimed. “Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.”
The news follows a report from earlier this week that claimed CNN is planning to move veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer from his current 6 pm slot to a morning position. According to Variety, a source said that Blitzer would team up with Pamela Brown for a two-hour show in the 11 am slot, which would keep the Situation Room title.
Neither CNN nor Acosta have commented on the report.
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