The seemingly endless mockery aimed at a CBS Evening News anchor just two days into his tenure isn’t just humiliating him—or his MAGA-curious boss, Bari Weiss.
Staffers at the once-pristine evening broadcast are “overwhelmingly depressed” by Tony Dokoupil’s chaotic rollout and Trump-friendly segments, Status reported Wednesday.
“A total s–t show,” one network insider told the outlet. “A total disaster,” another added.
Dokoupil, 45, who previously co-hosted CBS’s morning news show, declared after his appointment that the new CBS Evening News would rail against “elites” and the “legacy media,” which he accused of mishandling stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop, Hillary Clinton’s emails, and “the president’s fitness for office.”
The Columbia University alum was educated at Miami’s Gulliver School—the same one attended by Jeb Bush’s children—which charges annual tuition of more than $50,000 for students after fifth grade.
He currently lives in an upscale Brooklyn neighborhood with his wife, fellow journalist Katy Tur, in an apartment featuring a spacious basement the pair converted into a television studio and broadcast from during the pandemic.
Dokoupil, a former Daily Beast reporter, also fancied himself “more accountable and more transparent than [Walter] Cronkite” in the lead-up to his debut.
What has actually transpired, however, has painted a far different picture: glowing tributes to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, cringeworthy sob stories, and a string of awkward technical difficulties.
“It is so bad in there,” a CBS insider told Status.
Dokoupil replaced John Dickerson, 57, and Maurice DuBois, 60, who began co-hosting CBS Evening News in January and both departed the network after 16 and 21 years, respectively. The newscast consistently trails ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News in the ratings.
Several CBS Evening News staffers told Status they view Dokoupil’s disastrous debut as a sign of what’s to come under Weiss and Trump-loving owner David Ellison’s watchful eyes.
“It’s an insult to the storied news giants who came before him,” a CBS News reporter previously told The Independent, referring to Cronkite and Dan Rather, under whom the broadcast cemented its status as the most popular evening newscast.
The episode marks the latest in a string of controversies for CBS News as it attempts to remake its image following Weiss’s contentious appointment as editor-in-chief.
Her promotion was orchestrated by Trump-friendly CBS CEO David Ellison, in what many viewed as a concession to the White House as he pursues a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Hollywood studios, CNN, HBO, HGTV, and a vast film and television catalog.
The Daily Beast has reached out to a CBS spokesperson for comment.
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