2025 lookback: Quitting or fired liberal journalists opt for the independent route

Joy Reid continues attacks against Erika Kirk after AMFest jab Far-left podcaster Joy Reid called out Turning Point USA president Erika Kirk on her show Friday after the latter mocked her during AmericaFest 2025. The media landscape is as fractured and diversified as it's ever been, with the rise of New Media in the form of podcasts, Substacks and other independent journalism platforms giving consumers a huge array of options for news and analysis. Several prominent journalists who were best-known as the faces of their respective networks went the independent route in 2025, though not all by choice. The ones who did are, in all cases, even more outspoken than before, suggesting the corporate shackles of their former employers were no longer restraining their true opinions. Here are five figures who decamped from mainstream media this past year. CNN STAFFERS IN SHOCK ABOUT JIM ACOSTA'S ABRUPT EXIT FROM THE NETWORK Jim Acosta Known for his melodramatic style of reporting as White House correspondent and then news anchor at CNN, Acosta announced in January he was leaving the network after he was offered a midnight time slot instead of a dayside one. The left-wing anchor, who injected editorializing into his reporting on President Donald Trump and others, started "The Jim Acosta Show" on Substack, where he hosts a liberal podcast and also blogs and reports. In one of the most bizarre moments of the year in journalism, Acosta in August "interviewed" the artificially animated avatar of deceased teenager Joaquin Oliver, who died in the Parkland massacre, to promote a gun control message. Although the teenager's father endorsed the stunt, the interview drew significant criticism about the ethics of essentially putting words in the mouth of a deceased person and underscored Acosta's hyperpartisan approach. Joy Reid JOY REID SAYS MSNBC FIRED HER WITHOUT WARNING, SPECULATES HER COVERAGE OF TRUMP, GAZA LED TO OUSTER The long-time anchor for MSNBC - now known as MS NOW - was abruptly fired in February from hosting "The ReidOut." Reid has speculated it was because of her outspoken stance on the Gaza war and Trump but said she never received a true reason for the ouster. Reid started "The Joy Reid Show" in June, where she's brought her far-left commentary and interviews to more than 382,000 subscribers on YouTube and counting. Among her highlights this year, which included numerous interview appearances on other shows, are sharing a video suggesting the song "Jingle Bells" is racist, mocking Erika Kirk's attire in the wake of her husband Charlie's assassination and suggesting Trump might not have really been shot last year. Terry Moran The longtime ABC correspondent parted ways with the network in June after being suspended for his social media rant against Trump and policy adviser Stephen Miller, when he referred to each man as a "world-class hater." Moran, who had just weeks earlier interviewed Trump in the Oval Office, went the Substack route, naming his site "Real Patriotism." EX-ABC NEWS REPORTER ADMITS EMPLOYER BIASED AGAINST TRUMP DUE TO...

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