Tony Dokoupil recently took a break from CBS Evening News, having joined the show earlier this year. However, sources noted that the show had a big moment that he ended up not being a part of. The source also questioned the timing of Dokoupil’s recent break.
Tony Dokoupil Was Made The Anchor Of CBS Evening News Earlier This Year Amid CBS News’ Recent Overhaul
As a journalist, Dokoupil joined NBC News as a senior writer in 2013, having previously worked with Newsweek and The Daily Beast. In 2016, he joined CBS News.
By 2019, Dokoupil became a co-anchor on CBS This Morning. However, in October 2025, following the installation of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief, he was made an anchor on CBS Evening News.
Dokoupil’s new role has admittedly seen some pushback, especially as it had been seen as a reflection of the shakeup that CBS News has undergone since Weiss’ installation. As previously reported, the news program has seen ratings drop since the overhaul.
Recently, Dokoupil has been away from the show on a two-week vacation. In his place, Matt Gutman has been filling in on the evening show.
According to Oliver Darcy’s Status report, the program has actually scored its strongest weekly audience ratings in months during Dokoupil’s absence. The report dubbed the development a “rare victory.”
An Insider Noted That Summer Is A Time To Test Things In The World Of Broadcast News
As the report shared, the show averaged 4.1 million viewers during the week of July 27. This marked the show’s best performance in 17 weeks. This is also the first time it passed the 4-million-viewer mark since late March, citing Nielsen ratings.
That said, with Dokoupil on break, the report shared that these ratings came with an “awkward” caveat. Dokoupil previously hit an even 4 million viewers during the week of June 22. However, he didn’t pull anything higher since March. Previous CBS heads considered the number an “acceptable” minimum.
Thanks to the recent spark in viewers during Gutman’s time, experts are questioning why Dokoupil took a two-week vacation when he only started the job this year. While other media personalities are known for taking summer breaks, a source, described as a “veteran television executive,” told the outlet, “Summer is when the second and third place networks try to make progress against the first-place anchor who goes on vacation. In this case, the third-place anchor took off for two weeks — a baffling move given his collapsing show — and his substitute outclassed him in the ratings.”
The same source claimed that Dokoupil “missed” an opportunity to gain traction over the past few weeks, just as summer comes to an end. They described the situation as “another dagger in Tony’s neck.”
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.