Tony Dokoupil is going to have some explaining to do.
Dokoupil will start his run on the “CBS Evening News” two days earlier than expected, according to two people familiar with the matter, taking the anchor desk from San Francisco Saturday night as the nation seeks news and information about the U.S. decision to launch military strikes on Venezuela and capture leader Nicolás Maduro.
CBS News declined to make executives available to discuss coverage plans.
The anchor’s debut appearance on “CBS Evening News” may come with some challenges In recent days, both Dokoupil and CBS News have made statements on social media that defy some journalistic norms. Dokoupil appeared in a promo, for example, alleging that legacy media outlets have not covered past events well “because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you.” CBS News said Friday that one of its new principles was “We love America. And we make no apologies for saying so.” But taking such a stance could undermine the operation’s newsgathering, particularly on a day when President Trump declared that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela after capturing its president.
Will CBS take a pro-government stance or follow facts where they lead? The Paramount Skydance’s recent statements cast fog around the issue. Followers of Dokoupil’s Instagram account raised similar questions in recent days, and Dokoupil responded to some, noting that he had written the words to his recent promo and urged people to “Hold me to them.”
CBS News is being recalibrated by its new editor in chief, Bari Weiss, an opinion provocateur who previously led The Free Press, a site that made plain its support of an anti-woke stance as well as of Israel. Paramount bought the outlet for a reported $150 million earlier this year and installed Weiss as head of CBS News’ editorial operations, alongside president Tom Cibrowski. Since her arrival, Weiss, who has no experience managing a large traditional media operation, has drawn increasing scrutiny. She set up a new series of town hall discussions and debates, chastised the newsroom and other traditional media organizations and, most recently, spurred controversy by calling for a fully vetted and reported “60 Minutes” segment to be held.
Dokoupil was to have launched his “Evening News” tenure on Monday, kicking off an effort to report from various U.S. cities and towns. What Saturday’s news will do to the scheduled start of Dokoupil’s road trip , if anything, remained unclear.
Other top anchors were called in Saturday to handle the breaking news. Bret Baier, who typically anchors a weekday program on Fox News Channel, was spotted on air Saturday. Rachel Maddow, who normally leads an hour a week on MS NOW, appeared on camera Saturday alongside regular anchor Ali Velshi. Erin Burnett and Wolf Blitzer were called in to help anchor Saturday on CNN.
More moves may be afoot. Tom Llamas is expected to anchor Saturday’s broadcast of “N C Nightly News,” according to a person familiar with the matter.