CNN Moves Superstar Jim Acosta to a Hot New Time Slot More Worthy of His Towering Stature
BREAKING: JURY FINDS CNN LIABLE

Having a show at midnight is a high-status thing, right?

CNN is apparently plotting to exile star anchor Jim Acosta -- a longtime antagonist of President-elect Donald Trump -- to the "Siberia of television news" in a bid to "throw a bone" to the incoming commander-in-chief, according to a former colleague.

The network's boss, Mark Thompson, this week called in Acosta to propose shifting his show, "CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta," from 10 a.m. to the graveyard midnight slot, ex-CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy reported in his Status News newsletter.

"The move would effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news," Darcy wrote.

It's like the hospice of television. CNN will just try to "make Jim comfortable" as he prepares for his departure.

Acosta was caught "off guard," Darcy said -- with the anchor later using his airtime for some self-promotion to send a message to Trump to go easier on journalists.

"He had no reason to believe that his current show would be on the chopping block. In fact, his ratings have historically been some of the network's strongest," Darcy pointed out.

LOL, sure.

The spin is that this move is necessary so that... Wolf Blitzer can be moved to mornings.

That makes no sense. Blitzer is on in the afternoon. Why do they have to move Acosta's ten p.m. show to move Blitzer from 5pm to 8am?

Acosta was told his possible move was to accommodate moving veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer from primetime evenings to a morning show -- and nothing to do with his ratings or editorial style, Darcy said.

...

"They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump," an unnamed media executive told the newsletter.

"Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network."

UPDATE: The Jury reached a verdict -- CNN is liable for defamation.

They are now Convicted Defamers. I think that's what we say now, right?

Even better -- They requested a calculator for determining damages.

You'll have so much winning you'll be tired of winning.

Update: The jury awarded five million in compensatory (that is, real) damages. But it's the punitive damages where the big money can come in.

Sean Davis @seanmdav JUST NOW: A jury has found CNN liable for defamation against Zachary Young for lying about his efforts to rescue people from Afghanistan. The jury has awarded Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages. The jury will next decide how much CNN must pay in punitive damages.

I think that there's probably some limit to how much a jury can award in punitive damages, limited by compensatory damages. Maybe 10-to-1? So the five million in real damages may point to a much-smaller-than-we'd-hope punitive damages award.

Punitive damages are damages intended to punish the wrongdoer, not compensate the victim.

BREAKING: JURY FINDS CNN LIABLE&bodytext=Having a show at midnight is a high-status thing, right? CNN is apparently plotting to exile star anchor Jim Acosta -- a longtime antagonist of President-elect Donald Trump -- to the "Siberia of television news" in a bid to "throw...&topic=world_news"> posted by Ace at 12:09 PM

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