Jim Acosta says CBS News jeopardizes press freedom over political influence

WASHINGTON, DC: Former CNN host turned independent journalist and podcaster Jim Acosta criticized CBS News on Thursday, January 15, for what he sees as the network’s rightward shift under corporate influence.

Speaking on Jennifer Welch’s 'I’ve Had It' podcast, he warned of a growing threat to press freedom in the United States, also calling out CBS News’s new conservative-friendly anchor Tony Dokoupil. He expressed deep concern over the state of American media and its ability to hold power accountable.

Jim Acosta on media freedom under Trump Administration

Acosta described the current US media landscape as being under the influence of powerful corporations aligned with the Trump administration, "I’ve been describing it this way, I think we have a system of state-compromised media in this country. We do not have a free press the way that we did a couple of years ago".

He continued, “If we have major corporations that are in charge of our media outlets, that are under the thumb of the current administration, then you really don’t have freedom of the press.”

He pointed to CBS News’s recent changes under parent company Paramount and CEO David Ellison, a known Trump ally. The network has undergone major staffing shifts, including hiring conservative journalist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief and adding Dokoupil as an anchor. 

CBS has drawn criticism for Weiss pulling a '60 Minutes' episode about the notorious El Salvadoran prison where Trump sent more than 200 Venezuelan migrants last year, for Dokoupil’s favorable coverage of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Acosta did not hold back his frustration with Dokoupil, saying, “I mean, not only was Walter Cronkite spinning in his grave, I was hoping he would come back from the great beyond to choke the living shit out of him, and say, ‘What the f**k are you doing?’”

He was particularly critical of CBS News’s decision to reduce its 38-page handbook of principles to just five values, one of which declares, “We love America. And we make no apologies for saying so.”

Jim Acosta criticizes Tony Dokoupil and CBS News

Acosta further reacted bluntly, telling Welch, “Get the f**k out of here! We all love America! That’s why we’re doing this.” He added, “Because we all love this country. That is beside the point. What we should be having in this country is a free press that can hold the goddamn president of the United States accountable without everybody worried whether they’re going to lose their f***ing job.”

Acosta criticized Dokoupil for what he called “both sides-ing” the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, which resulted in five deaths. “We saw it on goddamn television. It was a bunch of Trump thugs that he egged on and incited and sent to the goddamn capital."

He also blamed Trump for the attacks, "He’s the one who did it, There is no both sides of that f***ing story. End of f***ing story.” He emphasized that independent media, including his own work, thrives because Americans can see through what he describes as corporate pandering. 

Gesturing to himself and Welch, he said, “And that is why things like what we’re doing right now is flourishing and thriving because the American people can sniff this out. They can see the pandering and the nonsense.”