CBS Evening News

[l_miro 245]

6 hours ago, Action Newsroom said:

It's confirmed. 

Tony Dokopil is the next anchor.

He will start on January 5.

 

https://deadline.com/2025/12/tony-dokoupil-cbs-evening-news-anchor-1236643230/

 

one right decision by CBS, going with the good looking Slavic guy.

He can borrow my Adidas tracksuit for the first broadcast

[Jase 1164]

2 hours ago, JRyan said:

Given their current roster, Tony is the best man for the job.  If Jeff Glor was still with CBS, I would've said give the job back to him.  Tony is capable and qualified - hopefully CBS actually gives him a chance unlike some of his predecessors.

 

And if CBS is smart enough, they will keep the 1987/2011 theme music.

More like the only guy left rather than the best for the job. That said, unless ratings drop to historic levels, he will likely be around for a while…

[nickp 393]

Tony Dokopil is new Scott Pelley?

[MediaZone4K 2661]

On 12/10/2025 at 2:55 PM, alaskanews said:

Surely this generic white guy will be the ideal configuration of deck chairs on the Titanic!

I didn't want to say it but you took the words right out of my mouth. 

 

At least Nate would give viewers some excitement and uniqueness with his new suits every night. 

 

Looking at CBS' blatant stability issues I'm gonna be pessimistic and say I have no faith that this is going to work. If their solution copying ABC, NBC is is already doing so, Norah was copying aswell and look how that worked. 

 

Both networks have managed to retain the same host for a decade, in NBC's case they did this twice. 

 

How bad did the current version have to be doing in the ratings to be blown up in six months??

 

On the subject of stability:

 

Vs NBC

Edited December 11, 2025 by MediaZone4K

[obxwatcher 23]

On 12/10/2025 at 9:30 AM, hfiles said:

Can we just get out ahead of this one and post this piece of future news for, oh, I don't know... 2027?
 

 

You forgot the part where Tony is going to start his own podcast and Substack account.

 

But seriously, I wish him all the best. I’m sure he will not miss the 3am alarm clock. He does great work as well and respect his interviewing skills. 

[atlnewsfan03 93]

On 12/10/2025 at 9:17 PM, MediaZone4K said:

I didn't want to say it but you took the words right out of my mouth. 

 

At least Nate would give viewers some excitement and uniqueness with his new suits every night. 

 

Looking at CBS' blatant stability issues I'm gonna be pessimistic and say I have no faith that this is going to work. If their solution copying ABC, NBC is is already doing so, Norah was copying aswell and look how that worked. 

 

Both networks have managed to retain the same host for a decade, in NBC's case they did this twice. 

 

How bad did the current version have to be doing in the ratings to be blown up in six months??

 

On the subject of stability:

 

Vs NBC

CBS Evening News at one time, we can collectively agree, was the ratings juggernaut back during the days of Walter Cronkite.  Cronkite's most notable competition was The Huntley-Brinkley Report, co-hosted by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, and that program would be renamed to what we know today as NBC Nightly News.  ABC Evening News became ABC World News Tonight when Roone Arledge was brought in to give ABC a major ratings turnaround.

After Cronkite left CBS in 1981, it seems that CBS gave up on being competitive against ABC and NBC, as evidenced by CBS Evening News remaining stuck in last place behind ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News, as well as CBS Mornings (also carried names like CBS Early Show and CBS This Morning, which CBS has struggled to make up its mind with a long-term morning show branding) remaining stuck in last place behind ABC Good Morning America and NBC Today.  Although CBS had a notable exception during the 1998-99 period when CTM had a short-lived ratings surge and GMA had the pairing of Lisa McRee and Kevin Newman that proved to be a ratings disaster, and management at CBS seeming to also embrace the "status quo" and "lack of patience" mindsets.  I'd hope CBS management would break free of those mindsets, and embrace giving Tony Dokoupil time to prove himself.

[l_miro 245]

58 minutes ago, atlnewsfan03 said:

CBS Evening News at one time, we can collectively agree, was the ratings juggernaut back during the days of Walter Cronkite.  Cronkite's most notable competition was The Huntley-Brinkley Report, co-hosted by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, and that program would be renamed to what we know today as NBC Nightly News.  ABC Evening News became ABC World News Tonight when Roone Arledge was brought in to give ABC a major ratings turnaround.

After Cronkite left CBS in 1981, it seems that CBS gave up on being competitive against ABC and NBC, as evidenced by CBS Evening News remaining stuck in last place behind ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News, as well as CBS Mornings (also carried names like CBS Early Show and CBS This Morning, which CBS has struggled to make up its mind with a long-term morning show branding) remaining stuck in last place behind ABC Good Morning America and NBC Today.  Although CBS had a notable exception during the 1998-99 period when CTM had a short-lived ratings surge and GMA had the pairing of Lisa McRee and Kevin Newman that proved to be a ratings disaster, and management at CBS seeming to also embrace the "status quo" and "lack of patience" mindsets.  I'd hope CBS management would break free of those mindsets, and embrace giving Tony Dokoupil time to prove himself.

 

viewer habits that eventually fade out and get broken when change happens. Everyone thought WPTV was untouchable, it now rates 2nd and 3rd behind WPBF, ironically many wondered why WPBF even try to do news as recently as 2010.

 

All 3 newscasts aren't doing great. No growth in 10 years. NBC and CBS newscast ratings are down 26% and 37% respectively from 2015. All three are down 50-65% in the 25-54 demo, 25-54 as a % of viewers is now 12.7 to 13.6% vs 23.5-26.3% in 2015, so audience is getting older and shrinking.

 

"Managing a declining asset" is what they're all doing, arguably some are plugging the cracks a little better but for how long

 

 

[Reweivvt88 173]

On 12/7/2025 at 10:11 PM, Geoffrey said:

I'm not sure Tony is any better than Bret when it comes to his on-air political leanings. Bari is apparently picking him for a reason. I just don't see him moving the needle in the right direction.

I mean given the new ownership and far right shift of CBS News, the newscast is going to be right wing no matter who the anchor is and whoever ended up getting the job knows exactly what they are signing up for, but for those at CBS News who still want to pretend they work for a credible news org, I think Tony is a much easier pill to swallow than someone who spends his days off playing golf with trump. There would  have been endless headlines of them picking a far right FOX News host with zero credibility, picking someone who already anchors news for the network saves them the PR backlash that would come from a FOX News or other outside far right hire. That being said, it sounds like Bret wasn't even interested in the position, and it was probably hard for them to find an outside right wing hire given CBS News dire financial situation and horrible track record with job security. Pretty much anyone at FOX News, OAN, Newsmax, etc.. has more job security in their current role than they would have moving to CBS News. 

[obxwatcher 23]

On 12/12/2025 at 7:04 PM, l_miro said:

 

viewer habits that eventually fade out and get broken when change happens. Everyone thought WPTV was untouchable, it now rates 2nd and 3rd behind WPBF, ironically many wondered why WPBF even try to do news as recently as 2010.

 

All 3 newscasts aren't doing great. No growth in 10 years. NBC and CBS newscast ratings are down 26% and 37% respectively from 2015. All three are down 50-65% in the 25-54 demo, 25-54 as a % of viewers is now 12.7 to 13.6% vs 23.5-26.3% in 2015, so audience is getting older and shrinking.

 

"Managing a declining asset" is what they're all doing, arguably some are plugging the cracks a little better but for how long

 

 

It’s interesting someone else brought up WPTV because I was thinking the same this week with Steve Weagle now leaving.

 

I lived in South Florida for a bit and Channel 5 was a powerhouse. Their weather coverage was excellent and most of their reporters were amazing and either were seasoned veterans looking for sun or up and comers heading to bigger cities next. Jim Sackett and Kelly Dunn were the leaders of a great station.

 

I would love to know what the hell happened because I check back in a few times a year and everything looks terrible from the graphics, the reporting and the generic set. 
 

In the last year they lost Kelly Dunn, Michael Williams, Shannon Cake and now Weagle. It’s like a fire sale at Scripps. The whole station is a relic of a titan they were. It’s a shame because this was a great station and now I see Channel 25 is kicking their butt and WPBF was a joke up until recently.

 

What a shame.

Edited December 14, 2025 by obxwatcher

[brianpr3 199]

The Bari weiss segment with Mrs.kirk was very pathetic, what was her idea for that? Is she really an egomaniac?! And then her post interview on that was very over the top trying to make it like she made a holy pilgrimage.

Edited December 14, 2025 by brianpr3

[NowBergen 924]

37 minutes ago, brianpr3 said:

The Bari weiss segment with Mrs.kirk was very pathetic, what was her idea for that? Is she really an egomaniac?! And then her post interview on that was very over the top trying to make it like she made a holy pilgrimage.

Did anyone actually watch?  I'd be curious if there were any ratings.  Giving her and her husband's perspectives airtime is not the best approach to increase ratings.

[MediaZone4K 2661]

On 12/13/2025 at 10:41 PM, Reweivvt88 said:

I mean given the new ownership and far right shift of CBS News, the newscast is going to be right wing no matter who the anchor is and whoever ended up getting the job knows exactly what they are signing up for, but for those at CBS News who still want to pretend they work for a credible news org, I think Tony is a much easier pill to swallow than someone who spends his days off playing golf with trump. There would  have been endless headlines of them picking a far right FOX News host with zero credibility, picking someone who already anchors news for the network saves them the PR backlash that would come from a FOX News or other outside far right hire. That being said, it sounds like Bret wasn't even interested in the position, and it was probably hard for them to find an outside right wing hire given CBS News dire financial situation and horrible track record with job security. Pretty much anyone at FOX News, OAN, Newsmax, etc.. has more job security in their current role than they would have moving to CBS News. 

I couldn't believe it when I saw the Erika Kirk Townhall commercial on CBS. I almost thought it was a Fox Nation ad.

 

It will be interesting to see CBS become the first of the big three networks to have a conservative undertone.

 

Ironically a right slant fits CBS. This was the network with a slate of rural shows back in the day. It's schedule is filled with police and legal procedurals. Its soap operas are more conservative than the ones on ABC, tackling social issues much less. The network has always had an appeal toward older audiences. 

 

On 12/14/2025 at 8:22 AM, obxwatcher said:

It’s interesting someone else brought up WPTV because I was thinking the same this week with Steve Weagle now leaving.

 

I lived in South Florida for a bit and Channel 5 was a powerhouse. Their weather coverage was excellent and most of their reporters were amazing and either were seasoned veterans looking for sun or up and comers heading to bigger cities next. Jim Sackett and Kelly Dunn were the leaders of a great station.

 

I would love to know what the hell happened because I check back in a few times a year and everything looks terrible from the graphics, the reporting and the generic set. 
 

In the last year they lost Kelly Dunn, Michael Williams, Shannon Cake and now Weagle. It’s like a fire sale at Scripps. The whole station is a relic of a titan they were. It’s a shame because this was a great station and now I see Channel 25 is kicking their butt and WPBF was a joke up until recently.

 

What a shame.

The culprit is typical Scripps BS. They destroyed a good news set in favor of a barren video wall, grainy studio cameras, cheap lighting and graphics. Add wanna-be-documentary style packages and other Scripps strip downs deemed "innovative" to the mix. They've lost major anchors on top of that.

 

WPBF is a good station don't get me wrong, but I think its #1 is by default of channel 5 falling off, not necessarily because they're doing something better.

 

Back to CBS...

Edited January 1 by MediaZone4K

[mre29 1967]

7 hours ago, NowBergen said:

Did anyone actually watch?  I'd be curious if there were any ratings.  Giving her and her husband's perspectives airtime is not the best approach to increase ratings.

 

Ratings? I don't think there were even advertisers.

 

Big Advertisers Appear Wary of CBS News’ Bari Weiss Town Hall Format

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/advertisers-wary-cbs-news-bari-weiss-town-hall-1236608265/

 

Quote

The news special aired at 8 p.m. on Saturday, one of the least-watched hours in broadcast TV. And that may have contributed to a relative dearth of top advertisers appearing to support the show. During the hour, commercial breaks were largely filled with spots from direct-response advertisers, including the dietary supplement SuperBeets; the home-repair service HomeServe.com; and CarFax, a supplier of auto ownership data. Viewers of the telecast on WCBS, CBS’ flagship station in New York, even saw a commercial for Chia Pet, the terra-cotta figure that sprouts plant life after a few weeks.

Direct-response advertisers typically pay lower prices in exchange for allowing TV networks to put their commercials on air when convenience allows. A flurry of the ads appearing in one program usually offers a signal that the network could not line up more mainstream support for the content it chose to air.

 

 

[DJonNews 104]

CBS wanted viewers and advertisers to think of this town hall as a display of "objective journalism," which it wasn't. They had no problem lining up mainstream advertisers for the "48 Hours" rerun that followed it, though.

 

CBS actually plans to do more town halls and debates like this in the future, advertiser disinterest notwithstanding.

Edited December 16, 2025 by DJonNews

[nomadcowatbk 188]

what do they have for Satuday nights besides reruns when they don't have sports?

[MediaZone4K 2661]

Interesting to see Nora O'Donnell anchoring the presidential address Special Report rather than Maurice, John, or Tony. It's cool that CBS still allows her to anchor special coverage.

Edited January 1 by MediaZone4K

[GoldenShine_10 263]

6 hours ago, nomadcowatbk said:

what do they have for Satuday nights besides reruns when they don't have sports?

 

They need to probably look to getting more sports coverage so they can fill those Saturday nights.

[nomadcowatbk 188]

4 hours ago, GoldenShine_10 said:

 

They need to probably look to getting more sports coverage so they can fill those Saturday nights.

wiener dog races?

[GodfreyGR 812]

14 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Interesting to see Nora O'Donnell anchoring the presidential address Special Report rather than Maurice, John, or Tony. It's cool that CBS still allows her to anchor special coverage.

 

 

Maurice and John already have a foot out the door. Probably not hanging around too long after their normal shift at this point.

Also- that address last night was pretty brief. All three networks went back to regular programming shortly after its conclusion with minimal banter with correspondents beyond that coverage would continue on streaming.

[mre29 1967]

CBS is saying the town halls will continue in the new year....with a title sponsor.

 

Quote

The network said Thursday that it planned to air a series called “Things That Matter,” which would feature town halls and debates involving newsmakers and people shaping American life. The events will be held in front of audiences with some stake in the issue, in venues across the nation. The program will launch formally in the new year, with what a person familiar with the matter says is a rotating series of hosts.

[...]
 

CBS will make the series an occasional part of its lineup even though a first town hall, during which Weiss interviewed conservative activist Erika Kirk, did not fare well in the ratings and suffered from a notable lack of mainstream advertising support. CBS said that Bank of America had agreed to serve as title sponsor for “Things That Matter.” The deal was initially put together through conversations between the financial services company and The Free Press, according to two people familiar with the matter.

 

 

[FiveNews 481]

John and Maurice sign off one last time.

 

 

[Geoffrey 958]

A classy farewell.

 

I wonder if the next new CBS Evening News will go back to having the anchor's name in the title, or if it's easier to keep the name off of it as it's apparently a revolving door.

[MediaZone4K 2661]

Weijia Jiang anchored tonight. Is there a particular reason John and Maurice's last broadcast was on a Thursday and they didn't just have them finish the whole week. My only presumption is the contract ending date?

[Geoffrey 958]

21 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Weijia Jiang anchored tonight. Is there a particular reason John and Maurice's last broadcast was on a Thursday and they didn't just have them finish the whole week. My only presumption is the contract ending date?

 

Could be anything from using up remaining PTO, a previously scheduled early start to Christmas vacation for one or both of them, or the fact that Fridays tend to be lower rated (in general, I don't know anything specific about this broadcast) and they wanted their goodbye to be seen.

[abric 227]

Nice of Maurice to add a bit of Murrow at the end. Good luck to those two.