Days before assuming the anchor's chair, Tony Dokoupil made a direct appeal to potential viewers of CBS Evening News, assuring them he intends to operate independently of political, corporate, and ownership influence—including that of the network's new parent company run by David Ellison. In a video message on Thursday, Dokoupil said people no longer trust legacy media as much as they used to, per the Hollywood Reporter. "So here's my promise to you as long as I sit in this chair: You come first. Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests," he said. "And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you."
His new boss, Bari Weiss, has talked similarly about Americans distrusting the news media. Dokoupil is stepping into a difficult situation: CBS Evening News for years has trailed far behind NBC Nightly News and ABC World News in the ratings, and the network's news division is embroiled in an internal battle after Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes story about the Trump administration's deportations. Dokoupil said the audience's frustration over coverage of issues such as the Iraq War, Hillary Clinton's emails, COVID-19 lockdowns, and Hunter Biden's laptop reflects a perception that established news media has catered to elites. He went to work at CBS in 2016, per the Hill, and follows John Dickerson in the anchor job. Dickerson announced his departure in October, just after Weiss took over.
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