NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 12: Tony Dokoupil attends InStyle’s 30th Birthday Celebration at BOOM at The Standard Hotel on September 12, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
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Tony Dokoupil has been named the new anchor of CBS Evening News, taking over from co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. His first broadcast is set for January 5, 2026, marking a significant transition for the network. Dokoupil, who joined CBS News as a correspondent in 2016 and has co-anchored CBS Mornings since 2019, will lead the program in a single-anchor format.
Since Scott Pelley’s departure in 2016, the CBS News anchor chair has seen a revolving door of replacements, including Jeff Glor (2017–2019), Norah O’Donnell (2019–2021), Anthony Mason (2021), and most recently DuBois and Dickerson.
Stability at the anchor desk has proven critical: CBS Evening News remains the third-ranked broadcast evening newscast, according to Nielsen, trailing ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News. This ratings gap underscores both the challenge and opportunity facing Dokoupil.
“Tony is what everyone wants in an evening-news anchor — authentic, compassionate, unafraid,” said Tom Cibrowski, president of CBS News. “He connects instantly, whether he’s talking with world leaders or with families navigating difficult news in their own backyards.”
Network evening news remains a cornerstone for broadcast networks, not just for ratings but for credibility and brand identity. Dating back to the legendary Walter Cronkite, anchors serve as trusted voices for millions of Americans, and strong, consistent leadership at the desk is key. For Dokoupil, the task is clear: reinforce CBS’s place in a highly competitive, high-stakes landscape — and the odds suggest it won’t be easy.