In an unexpected twist during his debut as the new CBS Evening News anchor, Tony Dokoupil encountered a mishap that left viewers talking. This incident unfolded shortly after he was brought on board by Bari Weiss, the former New York Times opinion editor, who is in the midst of revitalizing the network as its new editor-in-chief.
During Monday’s broadcast, things took a chaotic turn when the visuals displayed did not align with what Dokoupil was reading from his teleprompter. The mismatch prompted a visibly unsettled Dokoupil to acknowledge the “big problems” he was experiencing live on air. Despite the initial stumble, he managed to regain his poise by ad-libbing with the images presented.
The segment quickly gained viral attention, although not for the reasons CBS might have hoped. Critics from the media sphere, along with viewers, mocked the broadcast, labeling it as an “embarrassing” showcase of “complete and utter incompetence.”
The trouble for Dokoupil began after he concluded a segment on Donald Trump’s involvement in Venezuela and attempted to transition to other news topics.
The broadcast went viral for all the wrong reasons, as media executives, journalists and viewers ridiculed the segment, branding it an ’embarrassing’ display of ‘complete and utter incompetence’.
Dokoupil’s woes began when he wrapped up a news report on Donald Trump’s incursion in Venezuela and attempted to pivot to ‘other news’.
‘Uh, to Governor Walz… No, we’re gonna do Mark Kelly,’ he said in response to images of the Arizona senator being shown on the screen rather than the Minnesota Governor.
Disarmed, Dokoupil added: ‘First day, first day, big problems here. Uh, are we going to Kelly here or are we gonna go to Jonah Kaplan?’
New CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil suffered an ’embarrassing’ glitch during his first regular broadcast after being hired by the station’s new leader
Dokoupil was the first major hire made by new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss in her attempt to rebrand the network
After a slight pause, the anchor improvised by talking about the images on the screen of Kelly and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
‘We’re doing Mark Kelly,’ he continued. ‘Possibly demoted from his rank of captain in the Navy.
‘Hegseth issued what’s known as a letter of censure for the Arizona Democrat over his participation in the video. They called on service members to defy illegal orders without specifying which orders he had in mind.’
One viewer shared a clip of the chaos online, while speculating that a liberal CBS staffer unhappy with their new leadership had intentionally sabotaged Dokoupil’s broadcast.
‘Welcome to the resistance, teleprompter person,’ NYT bestselling author Shannon Watts wrote on X.
Meanwhile, former NBC Universal Senior Executive Mike Sington branded the broadcast ’embarrassing’ and placed the blame firmly on Weiss.
‘“First day, big problems here,”‘ he wrote on X. ‘This is embarrassing.
Dokoupil became flustered after the images shown did not match his script on the teleprompter
The broadcast went viral, as media executives, journalists and viewers ridiculed the segment online, branding it an ’embarrassing’ display of ‘complete and utter incompetence
‘Newly installed CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil has major problems during his first regular broadcast.
‘The inexperience of new CBS News chief Bari Weiss is on full display.’
‘Complete and utter incompetence on display during Bari Weiss & Tony Dokoupil’s first weekday, primetime broadcast,’ freelance journalist Peter Rothpletz wrote.
‘Reminder: Dokoupil vowed to be superior to **Walter Cronkite** over the weekend. great job, Bari! hope the money was worth the humiliation!’
The Daily Mail has contacted CBS News for comment.
Dokoupil’s Monday broadcast was his first regular slot after he hosted a last-minute Saturday edition of CBS Evening News to cover the shock news that the US had captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
He previously released a video outlining the mission statement for his new show, saying he wanted to serve ‘the average American’ over ‘advocates’ and ‘elites’.
Dokoupil said in the video that ‘all of a legacy media’ needs a change as viewers ‘do not trust us like they used to’.
‘I get it, I get it because I’ve been hearing about it from just about everybody for more than 20 years as I’ve traveled America on this assignment or that,’ he said.
Dokoupil cited everything from Hillary Clinton’s email scandal to the Russia hoax to Donald Trump’s ‘fitness for office’ as topics that have not been covered well by the mainstream media.
‘On too many stories, the Press has missed the story,’ he said.
‘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.’
Weiss, 41, anointed Dokoupil the next host of the flagship broadcast in December, following a far-and-wide search outside CBS.
He was previously the co-host of CBS Mornings and a news correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC.
Before he launched his career in broadcast news, Dokoupil worked as a writer at Newsweek and the Daily Beast.
