Staff at CBS News have expressed anger and embarrassment over Tony Dokoupil’s first days as the new anchor of the CBS Evening News, with some accusing him of practising “journalism malpractice” and pivoting the programme towards a pro-Trump agenda. Critics within the network have described the debut as “embarrassing” and “pathetic”, according to multiple sources who spoke to The Independent.
During a commercial break in his Saturday evening interview with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary reportedly said he agreed to the conversation at the request of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and because “CBS News did something right”. Four sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed Hegseth’s remarks, which came days after Weiss controversially spiked a 60 Minutes story on the CECOT prison for not sufficiently representing the Trump administration’s side.
Dokoupil, previously host of CBS Mornings and handpicked by Weiss to lead the rebooted evening show, has faced criticism for his boast that he would be “more accountable and more transparent” than legendary anchor Walter Cronkite. The comment was made in a social media exchange with critics who had taken issue with his New Year’s Day video message, in which he criticised legacy media for focusing too much on “academics” and “elites” rather than the “average American”.
Network staff also criticised the marketing strategy, which included short clips of Dokoupil asking strangers at a train station to pronounce his surname. “Quite the humiliating ritual,” one employee said, adding: “This is just embarrassing.” The relaunch has been plagued by internal chaos, including last-minute changes by Weiss and use of a private plane for Dokoupil’s “Live From America” tour, which was forced to adjust its itinerary after the invasion of Venezuela.
The interview with Hegseth, described by Variety as an “inauspicious sign of where CBS News is headed”, was widely criticised as unchallenging and acquiescent. Oliver Darcy of Status News labelled it a “softball interview”. One CBS News insider said the multi-segment sitdown was seen internally as disastrous.
