The CBS Evening News has endured frequent anchor changes over the past decade—Dokoupil will be the sixth since 2015 (following Scott Pelley, Jeff Glor, Norah O'Donnell, and the Dickerson-DuBois duo). The show's woes stem from broader industry challenges: declining linear TV viewership, competition from cable news like Fox's Special Report (also anchored by Bret Baier), and CBS's historical disadvantages, such as losing NFL broadcast rights in 1994, which ceded affiliates to Fox.
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| Tony Dokoupil |
DuBois' abrupt resignation announcement reportedly caught executives off-guard, accelerating the search.
Weiss, a former New York Times editor and founder of The Free Press, was brought in to "win" back trust in media, per her first staff meeting. She prioritized Dokoupil, reportedly favoring his alignment with her pro-Israel views and resistance to "elite consensus," despite internal pushback.
Reactions and Controversies
The hire has sparked division at CBS. Supporters, including Weiss, praise Dokoupil's authenticity: "We live in a time in which many people have lost trust in the media. Tony Dokoupil is the person to win it back." However, anonymous staffers have been scathing, calling him a "mediocre straight white man" rewarded for ideological fit rather than star power, and mocking the anchor desk as a "toilet seat" given the show's low ratings.