On the downside, the reputation and credibility of CBS News isn't just in the toilet; it has already circled the drain and gone down to the sewer with the alligators.
But they can take some consolation, we suppose, in the fact that this does not differentiate them from pretty much any other major legacy media news outlet.
But Bari Weiss has promised to do better. So far, the results aren't great, given CBS's embarrassing 'coverage' of the Minnesota fraud scandal, not to mention the track record of 60 Minutes. But Weiss did recently spike a completely biased and poorly researched 60 Minutes story about prisons in El Salvador.
It's not much, but it's a start.
This morning, Tony Dokoupil -- Weiss's pick to anchor the network's flagship nightly broadcast, CBS Evening News -- recorded a video acknowledging and accepting responsibility for CBS's horrible performance over decades. He also promised to do better and to listen to Americans, not just elites. Finally, he asked viewers to hold him accountable. Watch:
"On too many stories, the press has missed the story. 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."
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 1, 2026
That changes now. The new CBS Evening News… pic.twitter.com/NKdvRJjYCS
... starts Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
We won't be setting our DVRs for that, but we'll be paying attention.
Dokoupil's background includes work for NBC and MSNBC, as well as Newsweek and The Daily Beast, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his objectivity.
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But his video created a panic on the left, including The Daily Beast, which called the video a 'humiliating and awkward initiation ritual.'
So, you know, that's a good sign.
On X, however, the video was inundated with replies (apparently from a lot of people in Missouri), saying, 'Don't tell us. SHOW us.'
The proof will be in the pudding. There’s certainly a market gap there for CBS to exploit if they’re serious. https://t.co/bgX4wgblGT
— Stephen Fleming (@StephenFleming) January 1, 2026
You have a long way to go to prove you aren't just the propaganda arm of the Democrat party.
— Veterans for Liberty (@Vets4AP) January 1, 2026
I really want a solid press corps to return, and your self analysis here is at least somewhat promising…I’ll give you a chance & im rooting for you to succeed in this regard. Please be for real. We need it.
— KC-10 Driver ✈️ 👨✈️ B-737 Wrangler (@MCCCANM) January 1, 2026
There is a real question, in the digital age, whether a nightly network news program is even a viable product anymore. But there's no doubt that there's room for CBS to carve out a niche if Dokoupil and Weiss are serious.
Naturally, that hypothesis was deservedly greeted with a lot of doubt.
so, people from literally everywhere, told you that you were doing a crappy job and no one trusted you, and it only took you 20 YEARS to listen and act?
— Rani, Last of The Red Hot Boomers (@ShadesOfRani) January 1, 2026
It doesn't really bode well for their ability to react and report on breaking news in real time, does it?
“Missed the story”. @CBSNews @CBSEveningNews have been leftest propagandist for far too long for the American people to believe suddenly they will be fair. https://t.co/rXm7u0UYW4
— MaryAnnNotGinger 💋 (@MAnotGinger) January 1, 2026
There will be no 'suddenly' about it. Even if Weiss is earnest in her desire to restore credibility and integrity, that effort will take years or even decades.
Oh good. So now you’re going to talk to “the average American”...right after a decade of lecturing them, gaslighting them, and calling them extremists for noticing reality.
— Flopping Aces (@FloppingAces) January 1, 2026
Can’t wait for CBS to bravely report things like groceries being expensive, that crime actually exists,…
... that borders matter, and parents notice what’s taught in schools.
All of which Americans figured out years ago...without a focus group or a Monday night reboot.
Bold. Courageous. Emmy-bait.
And they're not off to a great start at the end of 2025, that's for sure.
These people left the "journalism" barn door open years ago and now they're trying to get the credibility horses back in but they're long gone. https://t.co/ChTVp3nHWt
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) January 1, 2026
It was a tough crowd on X, but CBS deserved every bit of the doubt and skepticism.
I’ll believe it when I see it, but let’s see the change. Don’t just talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk too.
— annamerica ✳️ (@annamerica_nft) January 1, 2026
You gotta cover both sides and try to understand both sides of everything. Not have biased reporting that suits what you believe we should all think.
Putting boots on the ground in American locations that are not leftist elite strongholds, talking to people that Dokoupil said he wants to talk to and hear from, would be a good start.
If you are serious, move entire newsroom out of New York and DC. Go live among regular people in America. It will change outlook on what is important.
— Kevin Bishop (@KevinDBishop) January 1, 2026
Biggest mistake CNN made was leaving Atlanta. They were in a blue city but go 30 miles and in red rural America.
That's a great idea, but they'll never do it. Unless Mayor Mamdani turns New York into a post-apocalyptic hellhole faster than we're certain he eventually will.
They might have to flee for safety reasons, if nothing else.
Hugh Hewitt, who knows a thing or two about running a successful media organization, bucked the trend on X and was encouraged by Dokoupil's statement.
New CBS nightly news anchor @TonyDokoupil is setting his bar very high with a video released this AM, one which announces his approach to his new job, which begins Monday.
— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) January 1, 2026
“I report for you,” he tells the American public via the video available at @CBSEveningNews. “Which means… https://t.co/VLcDWrGWQa
... I 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,' he added.
Good for Tony Dokoupil. The statement is more than two minutes long but those three sentences totaling 32 words makes for a succinct mission statement as well as a standard on which judgments about his promise can be made going forward.
Dokoupil’s stated bar has not been the standard for most of legacy media for decades. Legacy media has moved further and further to the left for at least the five decades I’ve been watching as an adult, and that’s why I —and most Americans— no longer watch legacy network news.
Most folks in the news business that I know are pretty smart, and they know this long march left is simple truth. So when Dokoupil is making a commitment to tell us what he knows, he’s making a commitment to telling the public the truth. That’s a welcome start for a new anchor of what was once an important post and perhaps could be again.
The old saying —trust is gained in ounces and lost in pounds— has applied to legacy media for years now, and the consequence is legacy media’s shattered reputation for truth-telling (much less for candid admissions of error), and the audience numbers show it.
Hewitt's post continued, but he ended it with a simple truth and a challenge for CBS:
Dokoupil’s pledge is a start. Keeping it is the hard part.
Let's just say that, for now -- and probably for years to come -- Americans aren't holding out a lot of hope that Weiss, Dokoupil, and CBS News are going to keep their pledge.
Time, a LOT of time, will tell.
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