Tony Dokoupil, the latest anchor of CBS Evening News, told The Wall Street Journal that he has not felt pressured by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss amid claims of bias tied to last month’s 60 Minutes firings. Dokoupil said he pays attention to accusations
Tony Dokoupil hasn’t felt the kind of pressure he says others described when they walked out of “60 Minutes.”
In a new conversation with The Wall Street Journal published Monday. Dokoupil—now the latest anchor of “CBS Evening News”—addressed claims that CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss had pushed a biased approach at the network. Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi, and Cecilia Vega made similar accusations as they were fired from the storied program.
“When they make comments like that, I pay attention,” Dokoupil said. “But I can only speak for what’s happening on this side of the street, and it’s not the experience that I’ve had.”
Dokoupil’s description of working with Weiss was blunt and practical. “When it comes to Bari Weiss, she’s the editor in chief, she runs a 9 a.m. meeting and has lots of ideas. When we like the idea, we use it. If we don’t, and if it doesn’t work for our show, we don’t.”
Last month, the “60 Minutes” correspondents were cut from the show, with Pelley reportedly fired after a confrontation with newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton. During that exchange, Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering” the program.
In the wake of his firing, Pelley issued a lengthy statement in which he suggested Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was “casting aside” the news program to curry favor with Donald Trump.
Dokoupil pushed back on that idea as it relates to him directly. He told the WSJ he has never met Ellison or heard from him about “CBS Evening News.”
“He’s never had a comment about my show,” Dokoupil said. “He’s never called me to complain about coverage. If he tried to, it wouldn’t have an impact.”
For Dokoupil, the dispute around “60 Minutes” is something he watches from a different desk—one he says hasn’t felt the pressure his former colleagues described.
Tony Dokoupil CBS Evening News 60 Minutes Bari Weiss Scott Pelley Sharyn Alfonsi Cecilia Vega Nick Bilton David Ellison Paramount Skydance Donald Trump media news
So basically he’s saying “no pressure” 🙄
I don’t buy it, if you’re an anchor you’re always under some kind of pressure. Like even if she doesn’t call YOU, it’s still the vibe of the whole place.
Wait wasn’t this about Trump like indirectly? I saw a clip where they said Ellison was involved and now he “never met” him which sounds convenient. Also 60 Minutes is basically dead anyway so maybe the firings were the only honest part.
The whole thing reads like PR, not journalism. He says Bari Weiss runs a 9 a.m. meeting and “if we don’t like the idea, we don’t use it” but that’s still her show direction, right? And Pelley got into it with some producer, so now everybody’s like “media bias” but nobody can explain what exactly was biased. I’m confused how you can say there’s no pressure while the biggest segment is getting gutted.