CBS News has tapped “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil as anchor of “CBS Evening News,” according to a source with knowledge.
Dokoupil will leave his perch at “CBS Mornings” where he co-hosts the show with Gayle King and Nate Burleson, and start his new gig in the new year, sources said. CBS is expected to announce the move as soon as Tuesday.
A CBS spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Dokoupil, 44, has been a frontrunner for the job and a favorite of both Bari Weiss, the network’s editor in chief, and Tom Cibrowski, its president, as The Post first reported last week.
A source close to the situation said “CBS Mornings” will likely be overhauled, which may mean that King and Burleson will no longer be on the show. A timeline for the revamp, however, hasn’t been finalized and is not expected in the near term.
King, whose contract is up in May, will continue to host until then. Insiders said top brass would like King to continue in another role at CBS should she be moved off the program.
Dokoupil, who joined CBS News in 2016 as a New York-based correspondent, has quickly risen in the ranks, nabbing an anchor spot on the network’s morning show alongside King in 2018.
He made headlines at the network in October 2024 for his contentious interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates about the controversial author’s pro-Palestinian framing of Hamas’ war with Israel last year.
He ruffled feathers at “CBS Mornings” for the grilling, with then CBS News boss Wendy McMahon and her No. 2 Adrienne Roark, admonishing Dokoupil, who is Jewish, before staffers and saying his interview wasn’t up to the network’s editorial standards.
Bari Weiss’ news site, The Free Press, broke the story, revealing the culture clash and bias inside the network. Weiss, who was named editor in chief of the network in October, sold the Free Press to David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance for $150 million.
Dokoupil’s promotion comes days after Maurice DuBois, the co-anchor of “CBS Evening News,” announced his last day at the network would be Dec. 18. A source said DuBois “went rogue
with his announcement on Instagram last week, speeding up contract negotiations with Dokoupil.
Cibrowski denied those claims, saying that the company worked directly with the anchor on his goodbye post.
DuBois — who is best known for anchoring WCBS-TV in New York — nabbed the spot at “CBS Evening News” with co-anchor John Dickerson last January.
Dickerson revealed in late October that he was leaving the network at the end of the year, sparking rumors that Dubois would likely follow suit. A source close to Dickerson said his last day will be Dec. 19.
“CBS Evening News” is expected to use fill-ins until Dokoupil takes the chair in the new year.
While Dokoupil has minted himself as a favorite of Weiss, she also has mulled other candidates for the “CBS Evening News” chair. Those include Fox News’ Bret Baier and Dana Perino, but both were under long-term contracts.
Weiss also expressed interest in CNN’s Anderson Cooper, a sources close to Weiss told The Post, but has also faced a limited budget.
“CBS Evening News” has gone through upheaval in the last year with co-anchors Dickerson and DuBois, who had been in the role just under a year.
Under McMahon, who was ousted earlier this year, the show had changed its programming to focus on “60 Minutes” feature-style reporting, causing it to miss breaking news reports. The show lost roughly 1 million viewers under DuBois and Dickerson, who insiders said had no chemistry.
Prior to the duo, Norah O’Donnell had anchored the prestigious nightly news show. Although she was in third place, she did not see such a catastrophic ratings decline.
“Wendy McMahon was so stupid. She thought two men could do a better job than a woman,” fumed a CBS source, who acknowledged that Dokoupil has a “challenge ahead.”
Credit: Source link
