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CNN anchor Jim Acosta vowed he’s still reporting from Washington in a snarky message to viewers as speculation about his future continues to swirl.
Acosta’s future with the network is up in the air as his mid-morning schedule slot is to be filled by renowned journalist Wolf Blitzer, who presents the politics show The Situation Room.
The schedule shakeup is just one of a series of changes that are to affect the network.
CNN is cutting around 200 jobs as the company ramps up its digital strategy.
Despite the uncertainty, Acosta took to the air on Thursday and left viewers with a message.
“Thank you very much for joining us this morning,” he said.
“Still reporting from Washington.”
Acosta shared his closing remarks on X and it sparked a flurry of discussion.
Fans rushed to back the reporter, while others wasted no opportunity in hurling a jibe at the reporter.
Acosta doesn’t have a place on CNN’s new TV schedule.
“We are in active discussions with Jim about a new time slot and will have more information to share soon,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Acosta could get a midnight time slot on the East Coast.
And sources told the outlet that Acosta could leave CNN entirely.
Acosta was a prominent critic of Donald Trump during the president’s first term in office.
In 2018, his White House press pass was revoked following a public clash with the commander-in-chief. The pass was later reinstated.
Acosta quizzed Trump on an anti-immigration ad before the spat escalated.
CNN changes
CNN CEO Mark Thompson has announced there will be around 200 job cuts in TV as the network shifts its strategy to focus on digital services.
The company is to hire data scientists and product engineers.
Journalist Jim Acosta has reportedly been bumped down the schedule to a midnight eastern slot.
Renowned journalist Wolf Blitzer’s show The Situation Room is set to fill the mid-morning slot left by Acosta.
Blitzer and Pamela Brown will host the mid-morning show.
Chiefs are also aiming to publish between 50 and 100 vertical videos per day as part of their digital strategy.
Bosses are also creating a new streaming platform.
“Some of today’s announcements mean significant new job opportunities at CNN, but others will lead to the loss of some valued colleagues,” Thompson told colleagues in a note seen by The U.S. Sun.
“That too is an unwelcome but inevitable part of the change process. We will aim to contact every colleague who will be impacted by these changes as soon as we possibly can – and will of course help and support them in any way we can thereafter. In the year and a quarter since I arrived at CNN, we’ve had an incredible period of news and have already made significant progress on our transition to the future.
“I am grateful to every one of these colleagues for everything they’ve done for this company in my time and the years before.”
The two men sparred before Trump told Acosta “I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN.”
Trump opened the floor to other reporters in the briefing room and a White House aide tried to grab the microphone from Acosta.
Acosta kept quizzing Trump, prompting the president to say: “That’s enough.”
The journalist asked Trump a question about the allegations about Russian collusion.
Trump repeatedly ordered Acosta to put down the microphone.
Acosta eventually put down the microphone before Trump said the network should be “ashamed” of itself.
Trump labeled the journalist rude and terrible.
The schedule change has seen Jake Tapper rewarded with a two-hour time slot and his show The Lead will air between 5pm and 7pm on the East Coast.
Kaitlan Collins, the network’s chief White House correspondent, will host her program The Source between 9pm and 10pm.
New CNN schedule
CNN has announced its new schedule in tandem with the job cuts.
It includes six “refreshed” shows, according to the network, and Jim Acosta is notably missing from the lineup.
The six “refreshed” shows are highlighted in bold.
- 5-6a ET: 5 Things with Rahel Solomon
- 6-7a ET: CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish
- 7-10a ET: CNN News Central
- 10a-12p ET: The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown
- 12-1p ET: Inside Politics with Dana Bash
- 1-4p ET: CNN News Central
- 4-5p ET: CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt
- 5-7p ET: The Lead with Jake Tapper
- 7-8p ET: Erin Burnett OutFront
- 8-9p ET: Anderson Cooper 360
- 9-10p ET: The Source with Kaitlan Collins
- 10-11p ET: CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip
- 11p-12a ET: Laura Coates Live
Bosses are striving to bring in $1 billion worth of digital revenue by 2030.
A new digital subscription product is currently in the works and bosses will share more details in the months to come.
But the company is cutting around 6% of its workforce.
In a memo seen by The U.S. Sun, Mark Thompson, the network’s CEO, explained how the changes were necessary.
CNN has seen a near 50% drop in prime time viewing figures since the election, per The Washington Post.
“The changes we’re announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organization to profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” he said.
He revealed that chiefs don’t expect head counts to drop by a considerable amount.
But Thompson warned job losses are an “inevitable part of the change process.”
Thompson also told colleagues how millions of dollars are being pumped into product, technology and storytelling.
Acosta did not respond to comment when approached by The U.S. Sun.
