CBS Evening News Drops Again Under Tony Dokoupil in August

CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil fell again in primetime broadcast news rankings, according to Nielsen data cited by The Daily Beast and Adweek, for the week of August 17. Dokoupil averaged 3.96 million viewers and 458,000 in the 25 to 54 demo.

Both outlets said the performance lagged ABC World News Tonight, which averaged 8.46 million total viewers and 1.06 million in the 25 to 54 demo, and NBC Nightly News, which averaged 6.63 million total viewers and 1.03 million in the same demo.

The Daily Beast reported CBS News was asked for comment.

Adweek and The Daily Beast said the decline continued after Dokoupil took over the long-running evening news program in January, with ratings down through his tenure. The Daily Beast also tied criticism to a broader shift at CBS after Bari Weiss assumed a top role late last year.

Weiss, according to The Daily Beast, was installed after Paramount Skydance purchased her anti-woke news and opinion blog, The Free Press, for $150 million; David Ellison, described as the CEO and a son of billionaire Trump donor Larry Ellison, led the company.

Adweek and The Daily Beast reported that staffers raised concerns about Dokoupil’s approach, including his handling of the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection and what critics described as flattering praise of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Daily Beast reported that Dokoupil failed to get his Chinese visa in time to cover President Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping in May, forcing a broadcast from Taiwan. The outlet said the segment became chaotic after a cameraman suffered a medical emergency behind the scenes.

Dokoupil said, "We’re gonna take a quick break; we have an—a medical emergency here. We’re calling a doctor," CBS News host Tony Dokoupil.

The Daily Beast added that Dokoupil later confirmed online that the cameraman was OK.

Separate reporting from Showbiz411 said Adweek put CBS Evening News at 3.785 million viewers for the week of August 10, down about 120,000 from the prior week. The outlet said CBS Mornings also hit its smallest weekly viewership in program history last month.

Regarding CBS’s flagship news magazine, The Daily Beast said more than half of 60 Minutes correspondents from the prior season would not return. The outlet listed Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi as among those fired, Scott Pelley as fired after voicing concerns under Weiss, and Anderson Cooper as leaving on his own accord.

The Daily Beast reported that 60 Minutes would return in September for its 59th season under executive producer Nick Bilton without three of its seven correspondents, while Showbiz411 said fall ratings for 60 Minutes ride largely on NFL football scheduling.