The Bari Weiss era at CBS News has resulted in the shift from CBS Mornings to the anchor desk for the CBS Evening News.
The change for Tony Dokupil comes on January 5, 2026.
As the Paramount unit sees it, the shift ushers in “an ambitious new era for America’s longest-running nightly newscast,” one that has strayed significantly since the days of Walter Cronkite.
To better introduce viewers to Dokupil, who has been alongside Gayle King and Nate Burleson since 2019 for CBS Mornings, he’ll spend January getting out from behind the studio desk to travel across the U.S.
Weiss, the Editor-in-Chief at CBS News charged with making the journalism behind its newsmagazines and newscasts more balanced in the eyes of the current presidential administration, commented, ““We live in a time in which many people have lost trust in the media. Tony Dokoupil is the person to win it back. That’s because he believes in old school journalistic values: asking the hard questions, following the facts wherever they lead and holding power to account. Americans hungry for fairness will see that on display night after night.”
CBS News President Tom Cibrowski added, “Tony is what everyone wants in an evening-news anchor – authentic, compassionate, unafraid. He connects instantly, whether he’s talking with world leaders or with families navigating difficult news in their own backyards.”
Dokoupil commented, “After 20 years in journalism, traveling through all 50 states and talking with people in hundreds of far-flung American places, I realize why a country this big needs a show this ambitious. The strength of our nation is that we benefit from fair reporting and the open discussion of all ideas. For more than 60 years, the EVENING NEWS has been a bedrock of that process. I’m honored to join a fearless team at this important moment, and with what I can promise is a commitment to trust and the plain truth.”
Dokupil joined CBS News in 2016.
