This probably wasn’t the start at “CBS Evening News” that Tony Dokoupil and his bosses had envisioned.
The veteran anchor of CBS News’ morning show was scheduled to take over on Monday, but the stunning U.S. military attack on Venezuela and subsequent removal of the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, has made his appearances on the station’s evening news increasingly necessary, especially as top talent at other networks, including NBC’s Tom Lamas and CNN’s Caitlan Collins, have announced their intention to appear on weekend shifts.
So on Saturday evening, Dokoupil was working to brief viewers on the latest developments with the help of correspondents Charlie D’Agata and Scott McFarlane, and a three-part interview with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Viewers might have been hoping to see Dokoupil come out from behind his desk and take the temperature of a more average American. After all, earlier this week, he appeared on a promotional show and told potential viewers, “In too many stories, news organizations miss the story. It’s because we’re taking into account the perspective of advocates, not the average American. Or we’re focusing too much on the analysis of academics and elites and not enough on you.”
Saturday’s “CBS Evening News” has no direct input from average Americans, and Mr. Hegseth, who enjoys a level of power that few Americans enjoy, could certainly be considered “elite.”
Dokopil faces many challenges. “CBS Evening News” has long held the No. 3 spot behind ABC’s “World News Tonight” and NBC’s “NBC Nightly News,” but its position has declined further in recent months as CBS tested a two-anchor format with Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson that ended up losing viewers. NBC has relied on just four anchors for its Nightly News for nearly 40 years, but CBS has continued to replace its anchors, hiring Scott Pelley, then Jeff Groh and Norah O’Donnell in just a few years. These tricks make the task of connecting with a loyal audience that much more difficult.
He was selected by Bari Weiss, who recently became editor-in-chief of CBS News, to foster new audience connections. She comes to the Paramount Skydance-backed outlet after she reportedly spent $150 million on opinion site The Free Press. Mr. Weiss had no experience running a mainstream TV news organization, but that has started to show in recent weeks. The highly scrutinized “60 Minutes” coverage he ordered to be put on hold has been controversial, with staffers growing frustrated that the continued focus on his business decisions was taking attention away from the serious journalism produced by CBS News reporters, according to people familiar with the newsroom. CBS News was the first to break the news of the Venezeula attack during weekday hours on Saturday morning, providing key details about some of the operational plans.
Weiss hasn’t exactly smoothed the path to anchor. Dokoupil’s early January start was announced just three weeks ago, giving CBS little time to prepare for his addition. Television networks typically spend a lot of time advertising the impending arrival of a new evening anchor, often having the journalist meet with executives and staff from national affiliates, and local anchors are asked to drive viewers to subsequent national broadcasts. Three weeks leaves little time to drum up interest with outdoor advertising and other promotional tactics, and a digital video released this week showing Dokoupil trying to get the attention of passersby in Grand Central Terminal does not give the impression that he is well known.
With the arrival of a new anchor, CBS has tweaked the look of the venerable show, which has ties to the revered Walter Cronkite. The screen is less cluttered with graphics and less likely to distract the viewer from what the anchor is saying. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Dokoupil will be able to provide further information after a full day of special coverage on the matter by cable news and broadcast networks. In the end, CBS News gave most of the time to Hegseth.
Saturday’s broadcast should not be seen, as Cronkite once said, “for what it is.” Mr. Dokoupil was to begin implementing the program by visiting various towns and cities in the United States. In fact, he was working hard on CBS’ San Francisco station KPIX on Saturday evening. He is scheduled to return to New York for Monday’s broadcast, and plans to begin traveling by the middle of next week have been postponed.
Dokoupil concluded Saturday night with the words, “It’s just another day in America and the world.” But it was probably more than just a day for him, it was definitely the beginning of a longer journey.
