CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s reporting has caused a rift in the network’s newsroom over concerns Acosta has abandoned objective journalism in favor of explicitly anti-Trump attacks.
“But there is also a view inside the network’s newsroom that Acosta has been given the latitude, perhaps even the implicit assignment, to turn the briefing room into a personal editorial page because it is good television and reaffirms CNN’s integral role in the ongoing drama,” a Politico profile reads.
“There’s some grumbling in the rank-and-file that this isn’t straight news,” a senior person in the network’s newsroom told Politico. “But the higher up you go, the more people like what Jim’s doing or he wouldn’t be doing it.”
Acosta’s reporting and his affiliation with CNN has made him a frequent target of the Trump administration’s “fake news” accusations. The hostile relationship reached a fever pitch in early August when Acosta squared off against White House advisor Stephen Miller in a seven-minute exchange, in which Acosta took an explicit stand against a merit based immigration program that privileges high skill workers.
Rather than asking a question about the policy, Acosta read from the Emma Lazarus poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty and suggested the move was contrary to American values. While the blatant partiality on display in the briefing room reportedly concerned some portion of CNN’s editorial staff, Acosta openly admitted he knew CNN executives would embrace the reality tv moment.
“Acosta told me that as soon as soon as Miller dropped his ‘cosmopolitan bias’ line he knew the exchange would be news and that ‘CNN would be instantly overjoyed.'”
There is a sense in the White House briefing room that Acosta has actively pursued his high-profile status as an anti-Trump crusader and relishes his public notoriety.
“Acosta, by informal acclamation of his peers, is considered the reporter most likely to become part of the news story of any given day. ‘He understands that this is a big show, he’s seen the ‘Saturday Night Live’ parodies and he’s made a conscious effort to become one of the notable characters,’ said a senior reporter who sits toward the front of the briefing room.”
CNN President Jeff Zucker told Politico Acosta has retained a commitment to objective journalism despite his public spats with the Trump administration.
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