Tony Dokoupil is set to take over the CBS Evening News next week, and he’s set his expectations for himself in a video published to social media.
Dokoupil — who is joining the nightly newscast from the network’s morning show, CBS Mornings — began his video by stating that “a lot has changed since the first person sat” in the anchor chair of the venerable broadcast.
“But for me, the biggest difference is people do not trust us like they used to, and it’s not just us, it’s all of legacy media,” Dokoupil said.
He then went down a long list of stories that people want to discuss with him in public that they believe the mainstream and legacy media have gotten wrong in recent years.
“The point is, on too many stories, the press has missed the story because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American,” said Dokoupil. “Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites and not enough on you. And I know this because, at certain points, I have been you. I have felt this way too. I felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn’t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life, and that the most urgent questions imply weren’t being asked.
“So here’s my promise to you today, and every time you see me in this chair: you come first. Not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests. And yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you, which means I tell you what I know, when I know it, and how I know it, and when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that too.”
Dokoupil added that he’ll be talking to and holding everyone “in public life” to the same standard.
“I became a journalist to talk to people,” the new CBS Evening News anchor shared. “I love talking to people about what works in this country, what doesn’t, and not only what should change, but the good ideas that should never change. And I think telling the truth is one of them.”
He concluded his message by saying, “hold me to it.”
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A disaster in the making. Taking into account the “average american” and not the analysis of academics. So, Skip the professionals who know the topic well. R.I.P. CBS news.