CNN is considering a new time slot for one of its highest-rating stars—who also happens to be a longtime antagonist of President-elect Donald Trump.
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.
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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.
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.
With Trump’s inauguration just days away, however, it appears that the overhaul at CNN might be about more than just logistics.
“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.”
In 2018, the White House revoked Acosta’s press pass after he verbally sparred with Trump at a press conference.
“CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them,” Trump told the journalist at the time.
The network’s ratings have fallen by 49 percent since Trump was re-elected in November, according to Nielsen ratings.
After it was taken over by David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, CNN has softened its coverage of Trump.
Acosta is reportedly seriously considering the midnight slot offer.
Signing off from his show on Thursday morning, the anchor said: “I want to take a moment to talk about something President Biden said during his farewell address. He warned the free press is crumbling in this country. I would add, that’s only if we, the people, let that happen.”
