“CBS Evening News” host Tony Dokoupil expressed frustrations during his first live broadcast on Monday, noting that there were “major problems” occurring on air.
Just days after an upbeat speech announcing his new role as evening anchor, Dokoupil appeared visibly distressed in a clip that went viral. He struggled to transition from a segment about post-Maduro Venezuela to another topic, seemingly affected by teleprompter issues.
“Moving on to other news… Governor Walz! No, we’ll do Mark Kelly. Day one, day one, we have a big problem here,” he admitted, shaking his head.
After a significant pause, he continued, “Well, are we going to go to Kelly here? Or are we going to go to Jonah Kaplan?” Then, he reset, saying, “We’re doing Mark Kelly, probably demoted from the rank of retired Navy captain.”
This on-air mishap occurred shortly after Dokoupil committed to holding himself more accountable to viewers as he began his tenure as the anchor for CBS News. In a clip shared prior to his first night, he acknowledged the growing distrust many Americans feel towards the media, citing controversial topics like Russiagate, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and COVID-19 restrictions.
“The point is that news organizations are missing that story in too many stories,” he explained. “That’s because we consider the perspective of advocates rather than the average American. Or we put too much weight on academic and elite analysis and not enough on you guys.”
Addressing skepticism on social media, he responded to an Instagram comment referencing legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, with a mention that he promises more accountability and transparency than Cronkite or anyone else from that era.
