ALUM JOINS CBS NEWS. The lights were out on Broadway, and like many New Yorkers, Jim Acosta ('93) was not sure why. But a phone call to his office at CBS News, would answer that question and put the spotlight brightly on him.

It was August 2003, and Acosta and his cameraman were returning to CBS after covering another story. They noticed the power was out for several blocks, so Acosta called CBS. "I said, 'Do you guys know why the lights are out?' The bureau chief said, 'Get out of the car and shoot everything.'" He headed to an unlit Times Square and interviewed people on the street. Arriving back at CBS, Acosta quickly found a tie and joined veteran news anchor Dan Rather on the set to talk about the blackout as the video rolled. "There's a first time for everything," he recalls, laughing.

That experience was one of many memo-rable ones Acosta has enjoyed since joining CBS News last February. The job is a dream come true for Acosta, whose big break came following a year as a correspondent for CBS Newspath, a news service for CBS affiliates. It was a busy year, too -- Acosta reported on stories like the Andrea Yates trial and the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.

Acosta has kept busy covering the news since his days at JMU. Stints at JMU's WXJM and Harrisonburg's WSVA exposed him to radio news, and he used the experiences to secure an internship and a job with Washington's WMAL-AM. After a year, Acosta moved across the street to WTTG and worked as a desk assistant. "It was my first job in television, and I was making minimum wage with no health benefits," he says. "They would send me out with the photographers to drive-by shooting scenes to interview the police about what happened. This was the first time I'd ever seen a dead person."

After a year, WTTG hired him as a writer and field producer for its morning news show. From there, he went to Knoxville's WBIR and started working in front of the camera. After three years in Knoxville, Acosta moved to Dallas for a job at KTVT. While there, he covered a press conference by presidential candidate George W. Bush. He tried unsuccessfully to get Bush to answer two questions regarding rumors of his possible drug use. "He said, 'You want to ask it a third time?' I did, and then he moved on," Acosta recalls. Afterward, Bush and an aide jokingly said they were going to get him fired.

His reporting in Dallas got the attention of Chicago's WBBM. In June 2000, Acosta joined the station as it kicked off a newscast that focused less on crime and more on community issues. The show was cancelled four months later, and the setback became a turning point in Acosta's career. "When it didn't work out, it really convinced me that to do that type of news you have to be with a network news operation," he says. A year later, he signed on as a CBS Newspath correspondent.

Acosta and his wife, Sharon Stow ('94), along with their new baby, live in Manhattan, although Acosta is often on the road covering stories. "There are lots of sacrifices you have to make, but so far I think we've been able to maintain a healthy balance and enjoy it along the way."

-- Liz Cerami Taylor ('92)