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Trump critic Jim Acosta leaves CNN rather than accept move to midnight graveyard shift

‘It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,’ Acosta said as he signed off on Tuesday. ‘Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear.’

Justin Baragona
in New York
Tuesday 28 January 2025 09:22 EST
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Jim Acosta’s final message to CNN viewers

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CNN anchor Jim Acosta announced on Tuesday that he is leaving the network after his morning time slot was yanked and he was instead offered the “graveyard” shift from midnight to 2 a.m. ET.

Acosta’s announcement comes after Oliver Darcy, in his Status News newsletter, reported on Monday evening that the longtime CNN anchor was expected to leave after rejecting the network’s proposal.

“I just wanted to end today’s show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work behind the scenes at this network,” Acosta said at the end of his program on Tuesday. “You may have seen some reports about me and the show, and after giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot, CNN offered me, I’ve decided to move on. I am grateful to CNN for the nearly 18 years I‘ve spent here doing the news.”

After saying the highlight of his career at CNN was covering Barack Obama’s 2016 trip to Cuba, Acosta ended his final broadcast by delivering a parting message to viewers.

“As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home the lesson … it is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,” he noted. “I have always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account. I’ve always tried to do that at CNN and plan to go on doing it in the future.”

“One final message — don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear,” Acosta concluded. “Hold on to the truth and to hope, even if you have to get out your phone. Record that message. I will not give in to the lies. I will not give in to the fear posted on your social media so people can hear from you too. I’ll have more to say about my plans in the coming days, but until then, I want to thank all of you for tuning in. It has been an honor to be welcomed into your home for all these years.”

In a statement on Acosta’s departure, a CNN spokesperson told The Independent: “Jim has had a long, distinguished nearly 20-year career at CNN, with a track record of standing up to authority, for the first amendment and for our journalistic freedoms. We want to thank him for the dedication and commitment he’s brought to his reporting and wish him the very best in the future.”

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.

Prior to making the move official, Thompson called up Acosta and proposed that the CNN mainstay depart his morning slot — where he had been posting some of the network’s highest viewership for the past year — and move to late night, which has been described as the “Siberia of television news.”

Jim Acosta is expected to depart CNN rather than take a demotion to late nights.
Jim Acosta is expected to depart CNN rather than take a demotion to late nights. (AFP via Getty Images)

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.

While Acosta had considered accepting the network’s offer, Darcy reported on Monday evening that he began telling colleagues that he had decided to decline the proposal and depart from the network he’s called home for nearly two decades. It isn’t clear when a formal announcement will be made, though the network stated last week that its new programming lineup will take effect in a few weeks.

Regardless of Thompson’s assertion that the network’s efforts to exile Acosta to midnights had nothing to do with politics, his proposed demotion of Acosta before the CNN anchor’s departure left the president ecstatic.

“Wow, really good news! Jim Acosta, one of the worst and most dishonest reporters in journalistic history, a major sleazebag, has been relegated by CNN Fake News to the Midnight hour, ‘Death Valley,’ because of extraordinarily BAD RATINGS (and no talent!),’ Trump posted just before Acosta signed off for the final time. “Word is that he wants to QUIT, and that would be even better. Jim is a major loser who will fail no matter where he ends up. Good luck Jim!”

Trump has long despised the outspoken reporter, whose aggressive stance and critical commentary resulted in the commander-in-chief first labeling CNN “fake news” back in 2017. During his first term in office, Trump even briefly revoked Acosta’s White House press pass before eventually backing off following a legal battle. “CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them,” Trump said to Acosta during a 2018 confrontation at a press conference.

“They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,” one media executive said of the proposed late-night offer to Acosta. “Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.”

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