By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-25 15:06:38 | Updated at 2025-03-26 02:43:27
11 hours ago
CNN's supposed olive branch to Jim Acosta - a two-hour timeslot at 12am - was never really serious, says a network insider.
A source familiar with the matter made the claim to Fox News on Tuesday, three months removed from Acosta's very public, politicized resignation.
As for proof, the source said the proof is in the pudding - pointing to the fact that there's still no sign of the show offered to Acosta supposedly to keep him on.
'I have heard no discussion or scuttle about the slot being filled at all,' the source said, more than three weeks after CNN implemented a programming revamp that brought Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown to Acosta's old timeslot.
The midnight hour, meanwhile, remains reserved for reruns of 'Anderson Cooper 360' and 'Erin Burnett Outfront'.
The insider pointed to CEO Mark Thompson's widely-known goal of 24-hour live programming, and added how they did not believe the exec actually prefers re-airings.
Asked whether they believed Thompson was searching for a real replacement, the source said, 'I don't think he is.'
News of Acosta's demotion from a prime 10am slot to a midnight show was interpreted as a way of pushing Acosta out when it leaked in January.
The DC-based journalist is said to have been told by bosses the move would see him on primetime in the West Coast and offered a move to LA to try and sweeten the deal.
But Acosta refused and has since launched a successful Substack blog.
CNN 's supposed olive branch to Jim Acosta - a two-hour timeslot at 12am - was never really serious, said a network insider, three months removed from Acosta's on-air resignation
Thompson - now in the midst of a long-in-the-works restructuring plan that seeks to put an emphasis on streaming and - has insisted the offer was earnest.
Critics have accused CNN of attempting to sideline Acosta with the move, citing how it came at the start of Trump's second term. Thompson - now in the midst of a long-in-the-works restructuring plan at the network - has insisted the offer was earnest.
'Mark probably would say that he wants more live overnight, and he hoped Acosta would be first up at that, but since Acosta wouldn’t, Mark will have to wait,' the source added, after Thompson publicly insisted last month, 'We wanted Jim to stay.'
Insiders told Status early this year that Thompson had demanded stars tone-down their Trump reporting ahead of the president's second term - a reported offer that Acosta appeared to refuse during his final broadcast last January.
'Don't give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope,' he told viewers at the time, before branding Trump 'a tyrant'.
The remarks came after an hour that saw him slam Trump's first wave of executive orders as 'a dog and pony show,' while offering some insight on the offer Acosta apparently refused.
'You may have seen some reports about me and the show,' he told viewers. '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 just wanted to end today's show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work behind the scenes at this network,' he continued.
'I've always believed it's the job of the press to hold power to account.
'I've always tried to do that here at CNN,' he eventually concluded. 'And I plan on going doing all of that in the future.'
'I have heard no discussion or scuttle about the slot being filled at all,' the source said, more than three weeks after CNN implemented a programming revamp that brought Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown to Acosta's old timeslot
In the weeks since, Acosta has amassed nearly 300,000 subscribers on Substack, more than 10,000 of whom have paid access. This puts him on pace to earn well over $1 million, within his first year of going independent
Within hours, he was advertising his Substack - one seemingly launched secretly, several weeks before.
A cryptic first post - dated just one day after former CNN staffer Oliver Darcy broke the news of Acosta's possible move to midnight via his Status newsletter - contained the headline of 'Coming Soon'
Accompanying copy added: 'This is The Jim Acosta Show' - perhaps indicating the anchor knew the writing was on the wall well before his scathing sign-off.
In the weeks since, Acosta has amassed nearly 300,000 subscribers, more than 10,000 of whom have paid access for $8-a-month.
Substack takes 10 percent of bloggers' revenue, with Acosta still in line for a cool $72,000-a-month - and that number is growing quickly.
An option billed as a 'Founding Member' plan - which also last a year - is available for $240. Substack takes a 10 percent commission on bloggers' earnings.
A second source, meanwhile, told Fox Acosta was not forced out, saying the 12am spot had been designated for him.
