Tony Dokoupil, who starts Monday as anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” spoke out on New Year’s Day about where he thinks the press has gone wrong, and vowed that starting Monday, the audience would come first — ahead of advertisers, politicians or corporate interests including CBS owners Paramount Skydance.
“People do not trust us like they used to,”he said in a video on CBSnews.com and posted to social media.
“On too many stories, the press has missed the story,” he continued, “And it’s not just us. It’s all of legacy media. 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.”
The former “CBS Mornings” host said he has felt that “the most urgent questions simply weren’t being asked” by current TV news journalists.
Despite his long career in the news, the incoming anchor’s statement Thursday was notable in that it seemed to agree with critics of mainstream media such as President Trump, implying journalists aren’t doing their jobs competently. In the statement, Dokoupil said he had talked to people around the country who questioned coverage of topics like Hilary Clinton’s emails or the president’s fitness for office.
Dokoupil, who was previously at MSNBC, The Daily Beast and Newsweek and joined CBS in 2016, could have a challenge ahead of him. When he was named to the “CBS Evening News” post by new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, Variety‘s Brian Steinberg wrote, “The job comes with a difficult mission attached. The program, which has ties to legendary personnel like Walter Cronkite, has been mired in third place behind ABC’s ‘World News Tonight’ and NBC’s ‘NBC Nightly News’ for years.” Dokoupil is likely aligned with some of Weiss’ views, such as her pro-Israel stance, Steinberg wrote.
“I report for you,” Dokoupil promised, “which means I’ll tell you what I know, when I know it and how I know it. And when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that too.”
Dokoupil finished his statement by promising to uphold the truth asking viewers to hold him accountable, “It also means I’m going to talk to everyone, and hold everyone in public life to the very same standards. After all, I became a journalist to talk to people. I love talking to people about what works in this country, what doesn’t, and not only what should change, but the good ideas that should never change. I think telling the truth is one of them.
“Hold me to it,” he concluded.
Watch his message below:
