Overview
- Tony Dokoupil began his run as CBS Evening News anchor with a Jan. 5 debut that featured a viral on-air transition error and several seconds of dead air.
- His hurried Jan. 3 special on the U.S. operation in Venezuela centered on a lengthy interview with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that reviewers criticized as insufficiently challenging.
- Before taking the chair, Dokoupil pledged on social media to be “more accountable and more transparent” than Walter Cronkite, drawing scrutiny to the broadcast’s stated mission.
- Bari Weiss’s December decision to pull a vetted 60 Minutes investigation into abuses at an El Salvador prison triggered internal pushback after the segment aired internationally.
- A planned 10-city “Live From America” tour using a leased private jet was delayed by the Venezuela coverage and has fueled staff complaints about cost, optics and priorities.