After nearly 20 years, CNN anchor Jim Acosta is stepping down as the news organization reorganizes its traditional TV operations to stay relevant in a fast-changing media landscape.
Acosta confirmed his decision Tuesday at the end of his 10 a.m. ET show, bringing an end to speculation of an exit that began last week when CNN announced changes to its daytime schedule. The network said it was adding a new Situation Room series hosted by Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown at 10 a.m., leaving Acosta without a new time.
In an emailed statement, CNN said Acosta had a distinguished career at CNN, “with a track record of standing up to authority, for the [F]irst [A]mendment 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.”
Acosta is the first anchor to depart CNN as the news organization steers itself away from relying on the traditional TV business, which has been its primary revenue driver since its inception, and shift toward a multiplatform, digital approach.
During his sign-off, Acosta, who is based out of Washington, D.C., said he considered an alternative time slot CNN offered him, but decided to “move on.” Though Acosta didn’t confirm the exact offer, the New York Times reported that the network wanted to move his show to midnight — the graveyard shift of cable news.
Acosta was resistant, wary that the change was part of a plan to sideline journalists who have been critical of President Donald Trump, according to the Times .
For the past eight years, Acosta has reported aggressively on Trump, a ratings driver for the network during his first term. In 2017, Politico referred to Acosta as the “chief antagonist for a network that styles itself as Trump’s chief antagonist.” The two sparred often during White House news conferences. In 2018, White House officials tried to bar Acosta from the room, but CNN sued the Trump administration to return his credentials. A federal judge sided with CNN, ordering the administration to hand them back.
CNN’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson told Acosta that his move had nothing to do with Trump’s inauguration and pitched it as a slot that is in prime time on the West Coast, according to the Times.
Trump responded this morning via Truth Social, calling Acosta’s departure “good news.”
CNN shuffling its daytime lineup is one part of a larger suite of changes it is undertaking as cable television continues on a steady decline. The organization is launching a streaming service, the second after the ill-fated launch of CNN+ in 2022, and a separate lifestyle-focused subscription product. CNN will also cut about 200 jobs from its TV operations, which accounts for about 6% of its workforce, and create a comparable number of new digital roles. The lost jobs are primarily behind-the-scenes workers like producers, technicians and editors. The organization has also recruited new executives to overhaul CNN’s digital operations.
During his last broadcast, Acosta said people often ask him if the highlight of his career at CNN was at the White House covering Trump. The real answer, he said, is when he covered then-President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the chance to question Raul Castro about the island’s political prisoners.
“As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home the lesson: It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,” Acosta said. “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.”
Acosta hasn’t announced his next move, but he said during his sign-off that he will have more to say about his plans in the coming days. Part of this pivot could be publishing on Substack, a subscription-based newsletter platform where a number of independent journalists have gravitated to publish their writing. Acosta posted on his account for the first time about two weeks ago and published a lengthier post around 4 p.m. Tuesday.
“To President Trump and his allies, you may think you have silenced me,” Acosta wrote on his Substack, which already has 18,000 subscribers. “But guess again. ‘The Jim Acosta Show’ is coming soon.”
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