Earlier this month, the network announced the departure of longtime host Maurice DuBois.

Tony Dokoupil, morning show host, named new CBS Evening News anchor amid major shakeup

Earlier this month, the network announced the departure of longtime host Maurice DuBois.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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December 10, 2025 11:01 a.m. ET

Tony Dokoupil attends the 2022 Paramount Upfront in New York City on May 18, 2022. Credit:

Arturo Holmes/WireImage

There are big changes coming to *CBS Evening News*.

A week after the program bid farewell to its longtime host Maurice DuBois, CBS has announced the familiar face who is stepping up to anchor the nightly newscast: Emmy Award-winning journalist Tony Dokoupil.

As of Jan. 5, Dokoupil will anchor the veteran news program, joining the ranks of such venerated alumni as Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and Katie Couric. Dokoupil, currently co-anchor of *CBS Mornings*, shared the news during his Wednesday morning broadcast.

"It’s a massively important show, it has a massively important history," he told viewers. "It’s the oldest, boldest, most storied, battle-scarred and proud show, I think, in television news."

'CBS Mornings' co-host Tony Dokoupil.

Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty

In a statement, he added, "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."

In announcing the shakeup, CBS teased that Dokoupil's first month on the job will see him "get out from behind his desk and meet you in cities and towns across America."

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In her own statement, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss said, "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."

Dokoupil first joined CBS News as a correspondent in 2016 and was added to the morning show as an anchor three years later. He has anchored several major world events throughout his nearly decade-long tenure, such as the papal conclave in Rome and the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C.

Dokoupil notably courted controversy last year, finding himself at the center of a media firestorm after a contentious interview with celebrated author Ta-Nehisi Coates that saw him aggressively question Coates on the subject of Palestine and Israel. At one point in the tense conversation, the anchor told Coates that his book *The Message* "would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist."

Tony Dokoupil attends the Variety and Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Summit presented by Paramount.

Ilya S. Savenok/Variety via Getty

CBS News executives internally told staff that the interview did not meet its editorial standards, but ultimately, Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone publicly defended Dokoupil's conduct, arguing that CBS "made a mistake" in admonishing his conduct.

"I frankly think Tony did a great job with that interview,” Redstone said at the time. “I was very proud of the work that he did."

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In his new position, Dokoupil will succeed Dubois and John Dickerson, who are set to exit CBS News this month after taking over the evening news program earlier this year. Dickerson, who had been with CBS for 16 years, announced his exit in October, while DuBois, who was with the company for 21 years, followed suit last week.

*CBS Evening News* airs weekdays at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS and also streams on Paramount+.**

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