Overview
- At the end of Friday’s CBS Evening News from a Pittsburgh steel plant, Tony Dokoupil told workers, “You wanna trade jobs? This one’s not as easy as it looks,” a line captured in a clip that spread widely online.
- The video drew derision on X from journalists and media figures, with Ryan Grim calling it “the gift that keeps giving” and Mike Sington saying the anchor “doesn’t know what a hard job is,” while others labeled him a “MAGA” anchor.
- Dokoupil’s early tenure has included on-air stumbles, including a confused live transition and a wrong state nickname during his debut, plus coverage of a march by January 6 pardon recipients that angered some viewers.
- His interviews with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump were criticized on social media as too deferential, adding to questions about the broadcast’s editorial approach.
- Nielsen figures cited by industry reports show his debut week averaged 4.17 million viewers, down 23% from a year earlier but up from the previous quarter’s 4.03 million average.