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Jim Acosta

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Not to be confused with Jim Costa.
Jim Acosta
Acosta in February 2016
Born
Abilio James Acosta

(1971-04-17) April 17, 1971 (age 53)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materJames Madison University
OccupationJournalist
EmployerCNN
Known forChief White House Correspondent for CNN
SpouseSharon Mobley Stow (m. 1994; div. 2017)
Children2
WebsiteCNN.com biography

Abilio James "Jim" Acosta (born April 17, 1971) is an American journalist who is the chief White House correspondent for CNN. Previously, Acosta served as the national political correspondent for CNN.

Early life and education

Acosta's father arrived in the U.S. at age 11 as a refugee from Cuba three weeks prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis and was raised in Virginia.[1] His mother is of Irish and Czech ancestry.[2] Acosta graduated from Annandale High School, a public senior high in Annandale, Virginia, in 1989. In 1993, he earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication, with a minor in political science, from James Madison University.[3][4] While in school, Acosta volunteered for WXJM, the student-run radio station.[5] He also worked as a reporter at WSVA, a local radio station.

Media career

Acosta began his professional career in radio, and his first job was with WMAL in Washington, D.C.. In 1994, Acosta left WMAL and entered television, working for WTTG-TV as a desk assistant. In 1995, Acosta moved in front of the camera, becoming a reporter and substitute anchor at WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, and remained in that job until 1998.

From 1998 until 2000, Acosta worked as a reporter for KTVT-TV in Dallas. From 2000 until 2001, Acosta was a reporter for WBBM-TV in Chicago. From 2001 until 2003, Acosta worked as a correspondent for CBS News' Newspath service, based both in Dallas and Chicago. From February 2003 until March 2007, Acosta was a correspondent for CBS News and was based first in New York and then in Atlanta.[3]

At CBS News, Acosta covered the 2004 campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, the Iraq War from Baghdad, and Hurricane Katrina. In April 2007, Acosta joined CNN.[3][4] During the following year, Acosta covered the 2008 presidential campaigns of Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, frequently appearing as an anchor of CNN's weekend political program, Ballot Bowl. Acosta later joined CNN's American Morning program as a correspondent and contributed to the network's coverage of the 2010 mid-term congressional election.

In February 2012, CNN promoted Acosta to the position of national political correspondent.[6] In his role as national political correspondent, Acosta was the network's lead correspondent in covering the 2012 presidential campaign of Republican nominee Mitt Romney. He was then the senior White House correspondent for CNN.[7] At a nationally televised news conference in November 2015, Acosta challenged President Obama on his administration's strategy for destroying the terrorist organization known as ISIS. "Why can't we take out these bastards," Acosta asked.[8]

In March 2016, Acosta traveled to Cuba to cover President Obama's historic trip to the island. At a rare news conference in Havana featuring both Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro, Acosta pressed the Cuban leader on his country's human rights record.[9]

On January 9, 2018, Acosta was promoted to chief White House correspondent.[10]

President Trump press conferences

At a nationally televised news conference in May 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called Acosta "a real beauty" for his reporting.[11] Interrupting Acosta, who asked Trump about his ability to deal with scrutiny, Trump said: "Excuse me, excuse me, I've watched you on TV. You're a real beauty."[12]

During President-elect Trump's first press conference on January 11, 2017, Acosta attempted to ask a question to the President-elect regarding Russia. Trump, however, instead called on other reporters, denouncing Acosta and CNN as "fake news".[13]

On August 2, 2017, Acosta got into a heated debate[14] at a White House press conference with White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller over the Trump Administration's support for the RAISE Act.[15] Politico claimed this interchange “cemented Acosta’s undisputed role as the chief antagonist” for CNN against the Trump administration.[16]

Acosta speaks about his experiences at Trump press conferences and rallies at San Jose State University in October 2018.

On August 2, 2018, shortly after Kaitlan Collins was banned from the official press conference by the White House[17] and a statement of President Trump that "FAKE NEWS media... is the enemy of the American People",[18][19][20] Acosta asked the press secretary of the White House Sarah Huckabee Sanders if she distances herself from that statement. She did not decline nor support that statement and argued over her own treatment by the media. Acosta was praised by many liberals and panned by many conservatives. This came in a wider context of critics by multiple entities (critic came by the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR) for attacks by President Trump on the free press.[21]

External videos
video icon [FULL Exchange of President Trump's Clash with CNN's Jim Acosta (November 2018) | TIME]

Access barred

November 7, 2018 - press conference with Jim Acosta. Video from the White House

On November 7, 2018, Acosta verbally sparred with President Trump during a White House press conference following the 2018 midterm elections. Trump said "You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN" after Acosta asked him a question regarding Trump's rhetoric regarding immigration, and Trump's television advertisements which have been described as racist.[22] According to the Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Acosta put "his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern." Video of the incident showed Acosta had lowered his free arm to shield the roving microphone from being taken by the intern, saying, "Pardon me, ma'am," as he brushed her arm.[23][24] Subsequently, Acosta's press pass, US Secret Service security credentials facilitating entry onto the White House grounds, was suspended "until further notice."[25][26]

A CNN statement described Acosta's suspension as, "retaliation for his challenging questions". Sanders was accused of lying and of providing "fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened."[27]

The following day, the White House circulated a video which CNN said was doctored. The White House video matched a video posted by the conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars, widely alleged to be edited to subtly portray the contact as approaching a physical blow.[28][29][30] Analysts of the clip say that, within the two-second long snippet of video that is repeated within the 15-seconds long overall clip, the frames 13–15 are paused a fraction of a second, [31] (all three frames are the identical image),[32] resulting in perceived compression of action at the lowering of Acosta's arm. Watson said that he did not alter the clip, obtained from a GIF posted at Daily Wire and that he republished as a compressed MP4 file after adding a zoomed-in replay.[28][33]

In the days following the suspension, as CNN made behind-the-scenes efforts to restore Acosta's access[34] and prepared a possible lawsuit toward this end as well,[35][36] network news pieces quoted opinions of media law professor Jonathan Peters that "a journalist has a first amendment right of access to places closed to the public but open generally to the press [...which] can't be denied arbitrarily or absent compelling reasons"[34] and of well-known free speech litigator Floyd Abrams, who said, "CNN might have reluctance to have a lawsuit titled 'CNN vs. Donald Trump.' That said, yes, I think they should sue."[37]

Trump said Acosta's action as depicted was "not overly you-know horrible." Concerning the clip, Trump said, "They gave a close-up view. That’s not doctoring."[38][39][40][41] White House counsel Kellyanne Conway described the clip as not altered but sped up, taking exception to what she believed the "overwrought description of this video as being doctored as if we put somebody else's arm in there."[42]

Personal life

Acosta and his wife, Sharon Mobley Stow, a registered nurse, separated in 2017 after 24 years of marriage. They have two children.[43][44]

See also

References

  1. ^ Acosta, Jim (March 20, 2016). "A reporter's personal journey to Cuba". CNN.
  2. ^ Acosta, Jim (May 11, 2018). "This is my mom. Her parents were of Irish and Czech descent and "assimilated" quite well. They are buried at Arlington National Cemetery". Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c "Anchors/Reporters - Jim Acosta". CNN. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Monty - Publications from James Madison University Communications and Marketing". James Madison University. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "An Unanchored life". Curio magazine. April 7, 2012. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "CNN Promotes Jim Acosta to National Political Correspondent". CNN. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  7. ^ "CNN Ups Keilar, Acosta and Marsh, Shifts Yellin from White House to domestic Affairs". Adweek. August 20, 2013.
  8. ^ Griswold, Alex (November 16, 2015). "CNN's Jim Acosta Grills Obama on ISIS: 'Why Can't We Take Out These Bastards?'". Mediaite. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  9. ^ DeYoung, Karen; Eilperin, Juliet (March 21, 2016). "Raúl Castro, Obama spar on human rights, Guantanamo, views of U.S. and Cuba". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  10. ^ Seipel, Brooke (January 9, 2018). "CNN's Jim Acosta promoted to chief White House correspondent". The Hill. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  11. ^ Shafer, Jack (June 1, 2016). "Donald Trump Is a 2-Year-Old. It's Time for the Press to Treat Him Like One". Politico. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  12. ^ Byers, Dylan; Diamond, Jeremy (May 31, 2016). "Donald Trump's 'sleaze' attack on reporter hits new level of media animosity". CNN Business. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  13. ^ Sutton, Kelsey (January 11, 2017). "Trump calls CNN 'fake news,' as channel defends its reporting on intelligence briefing". Politico. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  14. ^ "Jim Acosta vs Stephen Miller - Immigration - White House Press Briefing 8/2/17". YouTube. August 2, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  15. ^ Swenson, Kyle (August 3, 2017). "Acosta vs. Miller: A lurking ideological conflict about the Statue of Liberty". The Washington Post.
  16. ^ Strauss, Ben (September 21, 2017). "Jim Acosta Is the White House's Favorite Reporter". Politico. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  17. ^ "Kaitlan Collins: Row over CNN reporter's White House ban". BBC News. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  18. ^ @realDonaldTrump (February 17, 2017). "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Cummings, William (February 19, 2017). "Trump declares 'fake news' media 'the enemy of the American people'". USA Today.
  20. ^ Rogers, Katie (August 2, 2018). "Are Journalists the Enemy of the People? Ivanka Trump Says They're Not". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  21. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (August 2, 2018). "CNN's Jim Acosta Challenges Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Then Makes a Quick Exit". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  22. ^ Schwartz, Jason (November 7, 2018). "Trump shifts spotlight from midterms, escalating attacks on media". Politico. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  23. ^ "White House Suspends Press Pass CNN's Jim Acosta after Testy Exchange with Trump". The Washington Post. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  24. ^ "Trump unloads on CNN journalist Jim Acosta: 'You are a rude, terrible person'". NBC News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  25. ^ Boggs, Justin (November 7, 2018). "CNN reporter Jim Acosta has credential revoked after asking Trump tough questions". WXYZ-TV. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  26. ^ Darrah, Nicole (November 7, 2018). "CNN's Jim Acosta has press pass suspended by White House, Sarah Sanders announces". Fox News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  27. ^ "White House suspends credentials for CNN's Jim Acosta". BBC News. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  28. ^ a b Aratani, Laura (November 8, 2018). "Altered Video of CNN Reporter Jim Acosta Heralds A Future Filled With 'Deep Fakes'". Forbes. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  29. ^ Melendez, Pilar (November 8, 2018). "Kellyanne Conway, Fox News Bash Acosta for 'Swiping Away' White House Intern". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  30. ^ Edelman, Adam. "CNN accuses White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders of sharing 'doctored' video of Jim Acosta". NBC News. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  31. ^ "Acosta Video Posted by White House Was Altered, Analysis Says". The Wall Street Journal. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  32. ^ @Channel4News (November 8, 2018). "The White House Press Secretary has shared a video of the Jim Acosta altercation that many believe was doctored. We take you through it frame by frame" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Ismail, Aymann (November 8, 2018). "The White House's Acosta Video Looks Different From the Original. Does That Mean It's "Doctored"?". Slate. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  34. ^ a b "Questions about the White House's action against Jim Acosta answered". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  35. ^ BUSINESS, JACKIE WATTLES, CNN (November 11, 2018). "Lawyer: CNN should sue the White House over Acosta access". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Anapol, Avery (November 11, 2018). "Former White House correspondent says CNN is suing over Acosta press credentials".
  37. ^ Business, Jackie Wattles, CNN. "Famed First Amendment lawyer says CNN should sue the White House over Acosta access". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (November 9, 2018). "Donald Trump Trash Talks Michelle Obama, Jim Acosta, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Claims Not To Know Acting AG Whitaker". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  39. ^ "Trump Attacks Journalists, Claims 'No One Manipulated' Jim Acosta Video". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  40. ^ Bauder, David; Lemire, Jonathan (November 11, 2018). "Trump says Jim Acosta video wasn't doctored: 'They gave a close-up view. That's not doctoring'". The Washington Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  41. ^ "Trump draws rebukes for scolding female reporters of color". Politico. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  42. ^ Keller, Megan (November 11, 2018). "Conway on video of Acosta-aide interaction: 'That's not altered, that's sped up'".
  43. ^ Johnson, Richard (July 24, 2017). "Page Six: Recently separated CNN reporter is loving the single life". New York Post.
  44. ^ "Obituary: Reuben Johnson". The Washington Post. January 15, 2006.
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