TV Staffers Mock New Evening Anchor’s Job as ‘Toilet Seat’
CBS has ended its search for an anchor to fill the CBS Evening News president held by Walter Cronkite, but failed to please all of his staff with this choice.
Curious MAGA Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss Picked Tony Dokoupil, 44, as New CBS Evening News presenter, Status News was the first to report it.
Dokoupil will replace John Dickerson, 57, and Maurice DuBois, 60, who began co-hosting CBS Evening News in January and both decided to leave the network after 16 and 21 years, respectively. Television news systematically ranks behind ABC World News Tonight And NBC Evening News.
CBS seems to have found a new Evening News presenter, but staffers are reportedly unhappy with the choice, a man known for his beautiful hair.
“It’s an insult to the news giants who came before him,” a CBS News reporter told The Independent, referring to Cronkite and Dan Rather, with whom the news show cemented its position as the most popular evening newscast.
The Daily Beast reached out to Dokoupil, CBS News and Weiss’ representatives for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Speaking to The Independent, one staffer called the new host a “mediocre straight white guy,” while another was amazed that Weiss had “all the power of CBS News, including its deep pockets, entirely in his hands” but was only “able to offer” Dokoupil as a replacement.
Weiss reportedly had her eyes on Fox News star Bret Baier for the job, but had difficulty finding him, as his contract with Fox was extended “through 2028.” She also reportedly approached Fox News anchor Dana Perino and CNN’s Anderson Cooper for the role; both of whom signed contract extensions with their respective networks.
Dokoupil joined CBS as a New York correspondent in 2016 after working at the Daily Beast, NBC News and MSNBC, and became co-anchor of CBS This Morning in 2019, alongside Gayle King, 70, and Nate Burleson, 44. He is married to his second wife, fellow journalist Katy Tur, 42, who hosts the weekday show. Katy Tur Reports for MS NOW. The couple have two children and Dokoupul has two older children from his first marriage.
CBS is undergoing a transformation sparked by the controversial appointment of conservative commentator Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief by Trump-friendly CBS CEO David Ellison. / Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press
The presenter reportedly came to Weiss’s attention in September 2024, after drawing backlash for what some deemed “hostile” to author Ta-Nehisi Coates over his book. The Message, a controversial exploration of the history and status of Palestine that was highly critical of Israel.
At the time, Weiss, 41, published an article for his media company, The Free Press, in which his outlet leaked remarks from a CBS editorial meeting in which top executives said Dokoupil’s behavior did not meet the network’s “editorial standards,” igniting a firestorm of controversy.
Weiss later defended the anchor, writing: “It’s journalists like Tony Dokoupil who are a dying breed in traditional news organizations, who are withering under the pressure of this new elite consensus.” »
CBS parent company Paramount acquired Weiss’ anti-woke substack for up to $150 million after P.
after David Ellison, a pro-MAGA executive, took over. Ellison’s company, Skydance, completed an $8 billion merger in August to take over CBS parent company and has since been engaged in a bidding battle with Netflix for Warner Bros., owner of CNN.
After the acquisition, Weiss took over as managing editor of CBS News, which has since suffered major layoffs, closed its race and culture unit, and canceled several programs, including CBS Saturday morning.
“He was clearly rewarded by the Evening News throne,” a CBS reporter told The Independent of Dokoupil’s new position, which he is expected to take over in January. “Though some might say it’s more of a toilet seat now,” the employee added.
