When anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois took over CBS Evening News last year, part of the network\u2019s strategy was to imitate a local news format, with a genial cast of personalities reporting from the field.<\/p>\n
The new anchor of CBS Evening News is trying a different approach: confrontation.<\/p>\n
Before he even sat down in the anchor chair for his first official week of broadcasting, Tony Dokoupil had already started skirmishing online with academics, fellow journalists, and a reality television celebrity \u2014 and he promised not to go easy on the new owners of his network.<\/p>\n
In his opening monologue<\/a>, Dokoupil lamented that his colleagues in the news business had leaned too much into the perspectives of subject matter experts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe press has missed the story because we\u2019ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American, or we\u2019ve put too much weight in the analysis of academics and elites, and not enough on you. I know this because, at certain points, I have been you. I have felt this way too. I have felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn\u2019t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cSo here\u2019s my promise to you, today and every time you see me in this chair: You come first. Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests \u2014 and yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you.\u201d<\/p>\n The monologue prompted strong backlash from critics, who cast Dokoupil\u2019s remarks as pandering.<\/p>\n When Bravo star Andy Cohen commented on the monologue on Instagram, writing, \u201cListening too much to experts? Wtf?\u201d Dokoupil replied: \u201cCan you really not think of any examples where academic advice turned out narrow or bad? I basically gave you a multiple-choice list. It\u2019s possible you were living outside or above the issues I mention.\u201d<\/p>\n Dokoupil also defended the show\u2019s new broadcast ethos<\/a>, which included declarations like \u201cWe love America<\/a>. And we make no apologies for saying so,\u201d and that the show will not use \u201cweasel words<\/a> or padded landings.\u201d After not tweeting for over two years, Dokoupil returned to Twitter to needle the Guardian\u2019s media reporter<\/a> and push back against criticism of the show\u2019s new framing from commentators like Larry Sabato<\/a> and Atlantic writer Tom Nichols<\/a>.<\/p>\n