{"id":15618,"date":"2026-01-25T17:58:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T17:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=15618"},"modified":"2026-01-25T17:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T17:58:55","slug":"cbs-evening-news-with-tony-dokoupil-is-a-show-for-absolutely-no-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=15618","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCBS Evening News\u201d With Tony Dokoupil Is a Show for Absolutely No One"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n \u00a0Photo illustration: The Intercept \/ Photo: Michael Tessier\/CBS News via Getty Images<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s the 6:30 p.m. ET<\/span> broadcasting block on Wednesday, and Tony Dokoupil, the shiny new host of \u201cCBS Evening News,\u201d is explaining away the killing of three journalists in Gaza even as a ceasefire deal apparently remains in place.<\/p>\n

That does not seem to matter much to Dokoupil, who before landing this plush gig at Bari Weiss\u2019s CBS News was best known for hassling the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates<\/a> for his \u201cextremist\u201d belief that apartheid is morally wrong.<\/p>\n

Dokoupil opens the news read already at a distance: \u201cTurning to one of the deadliest days in Gaza since October\u2019s ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, an Israeli airstrike today killed three journalists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He continues by accepting, without skepticism, Israel\u2019s framing of what should be a clear violation of the terms<\/a> of the ceasefire<\/a>: \u201cIsrael said it was targeting a group operating a drone affiliated with Hamas,\u201d Dokoupil says. \u201cOne of those journalists, Abed Shaat, has worked for CBS as a photographer. His colleagues described the 30-year-old as a brave person doing dangerous work. He was married just two weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

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An Israeli airstrike killed 11 people in Gaza on Wednesday, including three journalists, the territory’s civil defense agency said. One of those killed, Abed Shaat, had worked for years as a photographer for CBS News and other outlets. https:\/\/t.co\/8wPvo9RSf7<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/USxQRscATg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) January 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a blink-and-you-miss-it sleight of hand that tells you exactly where the priorities of the news regime at CBS lie. First, there\u2019s the tone, which exudes calmness about the fact that a co-worker has been killed doing his job. Dokoupil states that Shaat died in an Israeli airstrike targeting \u201ca group operating a drone affiliated with Hamas,\u201d the implication being that Shaat was either working with Hamas or was a little too cozy with Hamas, a means of justifying his killing. Finally, Dokoupil uses the distancing language of \u201c[Shaat\u2019s] colleagues\u201d \u2013 making clear that the host of \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d is certainly not among them.<\/p>\n

It was just the latest low for a host who has struggled to find his footing and his audience. Dokoupil\u2019s viewership numbers have been in the tank, with the number of eyeballs down 23 percent<\/a> in his first five days on air, compared to a year ago with anchor Norah O\u2019Donnell. Viewership was not much improved in Dokoupil\u2019s second week<\/a>; \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d remained a distant third behind ABC and NBC\u2019s evening news shows. (Perhaps that\u2019s why Dylan Byers, every media boss\u2019s favorite stenographer, landed the unattributed scoop<\/a> Thursday night that \u201cEvening News\u201d drew 6.4 million viewers on Monday, said to be its largest audience since 2021.) Dokoupil\u2019s first official broadcast was marred by gaffes<\/a>, and his January 6 show featured a fawning package on Secretary of State Marco Rubio that featured the utterly surreal lines: \u201cMarco Rubio, we salute you. You\u2019re the ultimate Florida Man.\u201d (The White House rapid response team approvingly shared the clip.)<\/p>\n

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Higher up at the network, there have been <\/a>multiple rounds<\/a> of reporting<\/a> that Weiss, CBS\u2019s new editor-in-chief<\/a>, isn\u2019t so much a manager or a journalist as the person tasked with courting the capricious approval of President Donald Trump. Weiss, who answers directly to David Ellison<\/a>, infamously caused a Streisand effect by pulling a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d story <\/a>about Venezuelan men deported to a notoriously violent prison in El Salvador hours before it was set to air because there was no on-camera comment from the Trump administration. The story finally aired Sunday with no substantive changes<\/a> \u2014 and without the all-important on-air administration voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Coming to us from a Ford assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan, on January 13, Dokoupil landed a marquee interview with Trump himself. With the sound of loud machinery in the background, the president didn\u2019t bother to conceal his disdain. In response to a question about Iran, Trump seemed to imply that Dokoupil, a convert to Judaism<\/a>, has dual loyalty to Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know where you come from and what your thought process is, but you\u2019ll perhaps be very happy,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

His subtext doesn\u2019t appear lost on the host, who responded, \u201cWhat do you mean by that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Later on, Trump disciplined Dokoupil again, this time in reference to his decision to greenlight David Ellison\u2019s acquisition of CBS-owner Paramount Global. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have a job right now,\u201d Trump tells the anchor. \u201cIf she [Kamala Harris] got in, you probably wouldn\u2019t have a job right now. Your boss, who\u2019s an amazing guy, might be bust, OK? \u2026 You wouldn\u2019t have this job, certainly whatever the hell they\u2019re paying you.\u201d At the interview\u2019s close, Dokoupil attempted to save face, saying, \u201cFor the record, I do think I\u2019d have this job even if the other guys won.\u201d Without missing a beat, Trump responded, \u201cBut at a lesser salary.\u201d<\/p>\n

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