{"id":279192,"date":"2026-02-11T19:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/279192\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T19:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:37:09","slug":"cbs-evening-news-anchor-tony-dokoupil-is-reportedly-starting-to-panic-as-ratings-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/279192\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018CBS Evening News\u2019 Anchor Tony Dokoupil Is Reportedly \u2018Starting to Panic\u2019 as Ratings Decline"},"content":{"rendered":"

CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil is hoping not to sign off air indefinitely<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old journalist \u2014 who was named anchor in December after a major shake-up at the news network \u2014 \u201cis starting to panic\u201d as ratings decline, a CBS source told journalist Rob Shuter for a Tuesday, February 10, post on his Naughty But Nice<\/a> Substack.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s asking people what comes next \u2014 because he can feel this slipping away,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n

Reports state<\/a> that the evening news program\u2019s ratings have recently dropped<\/a>, with a loss of about 400,000 viewers in a week and down around 600,000 viewers from last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cLongtime viewers have checked out,\u201d another source told Shuter. \u201cAnd once they leave the habit, they don\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Steven Bergman\/AFF-USA.COM \/ MEGA<\/p>\n

Last month, Variety<\/a> reported that CBS News is seeking buyouts at CBS Evening News, according to two people familiar with the matter. One of Variety\u2019s sources also claimed that Dokoupil has tried to \u201cdissuade management\u201d from making cuts from CBS Evening News.<\/p>\n

Dokoupil, who began anchor duties in January, came under fire<\/a> just days after he started his new position for getting emotional on air and interviewing his mother<\/a> for a lighthearted segment.<\/p>\n

According to one of Shuter\u2019s sources, Dokoupil is now \u201cthinking three steps ahead\u201d given the uncertainty at CBS, adding: \u201cIf this collapses, he doesn\u2019t want to be standing there with nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTony didn\u2019t sign up to be a placeholder,\u201d a colleague said. \u201cHe wanted a legacy job. Now he\u2019s worried this will define him \u2014 and not in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

ABC\/The View<\/p>\n

One of the issues the evening news show seems to be facing is a clear sense of direction amid CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss\u2019 changes to the organization.<\/p>\n

As previously reported, Weiss wants the organization to invest in more \u201crevelatory journalism\u201d<\/a> with an \u201cemphasis on scoops,\u201d including investigative reports and hard-hitting stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show doesn\u2019t know what it is anymore,\u201d a veteran producer told Shuter. \u201cIt\u2019s neither trusted journalism nor compelling television. It\u2019s just\u2026 there.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story \u2018CBS Evening News\u2019 Anchor Tony Dokoupil Is Reportedly \u2018Starting to Panic\u2019 as Ratings Decline<\/a> first appeared on National Enquirer<\/a>. Add National Enquirer as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil is hoping not to sign off air indefinitely. The 45-year-old journalist \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[109276,156,111,139,69,18110,113763,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-279192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-cbs-evening-news","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-rob-shuter","14":"tag-tony-dokoupil","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}