Jim Acosta

Abilio James Acosta (born April 17, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist, anchor and the chief domestic correspondent for CNN. Previously, Acosta served as the network's chief White House correspondent during the Trump administration, in which he gained national attention for President Donald Trump's clashes with him at press briefings. Acosta also covered the Obama administration as CNN's senior White House correspondent. As Trump was about to leave office, it was announced on January 11, 2021 that Acosta had been appointed Anchor and Chief Domestic Correspondent for CNN. Early life and education Acosta's father arrived in the U.S. at age 11 as a refugee from Santa María del Rosario, Cuba, three weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis and was raised in Virginia. His mother is of Irish and Czech ancestry, and his father's ancestors had originally come to Cuba from the Canary Islands. Acosta, also raised in Northern Virginia, graduated from Annandale High School in 1989. In 1993, he earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication, with a minor in political science, from James Madison University. While in school, Acosta volunteered for WXJM, the student-run radio station. He also worked as a reporter at WSVA, a local radio station, which is owned and operated by Saga Communications. 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 Fox affiliate WTTG-TV as a desk assistant. In 1995, Acosta moved in front of the camera, becoming a reporter and substitute anchor at NBC affiliate WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, and remained in that job until 1998.