Award-winning TV correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi is all but out at CBS News’ highly-rated 60 Minutes and is said to be lawyering up. The network’s London bureau chief, Claire Day, has been fired for pushing for more balance in coverage of Israel.
That’s just the start of what has been a disastrous year for what was once hailed as the Tiffany Network — the onetime home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.
Ratings for newly minted CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil have sunk below basement level. He’s slipped under four million viewers — a 23 percent decline compared to the same period in 2025. His January debut faced significant criticism for what was viewed as a softer approach to the Trump administration.
A flood of leaks has followed, with staffers denigrating the ability of Dokoupil — who was tapped after more prominent journalists turned it down — to lead the newsroom.
A Ratings Slide and a Newsroom Divided
It seems Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who has been on the job for seven months, continues to break a lot of eggs to dig CBS out of third place. But is it for the better?
Weiss has the backing of new owner David Ellison, who runs Paramount Global. His father, billionaire and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is a prominent Donald Trump donor. Trump has repeatedly praised Weiss, calling her a “great leader” for the network. Critics have debated her political bent, with some calling her conservative and “MAGA light.”
The one-time New York Times opinion editor, who founded The Free Press and sold it for $150 million, is a lightning rod. She views herself as somewhat liberal but says she’s softened her past opposition to Trump, having cried at her desk when he was elected in 2016.
That history makes the expected firing of Alfonsi and the dismissal of Day all the more unsettling.
The Alfonsi Fallout
Trouble started brewing with Alfonsi in December, when Weiss pulled her investigative piece — at the last minute — on the administration’s deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to a mega prison in El Salvador. Weiss said the story was incomplete because she didn’t have an on-camera response from the administration.
She had reached out, but the administration denied her requests. The move caused an uproar, and when the Trump team still refused to cooperate, the piece ran weeks later with virtually no changes.
Alfonsi lashed out at the decision in a memo to colleagues, calling it “political censorship.” While accepting a journalism prize last month, she denounced a “contagion” of corporate meddling and “editorial fear” at the network. She said she didn’t know if she’d still have a job. Weiss has consistently rejected claims of political interference.
Whatever the motive for holding the segment, Alfonsi can’t expect to speak out so forcefully against her boss and still keep her job. The three-time Emmy Award winner wanted out despite her protests — and to position herself as a First Amendment champion.
The Israel Question and a Network in Crisis
The one subject on which Weiss doesn’t claim neutrality is Israel. She is a self-described “Zionist fanatic of unhinged proportions” who said the London bureau’s reporting was biased against Israel. Bureau chief Day fired back, saying it was “fair and balanced” reporting. A freelance photographer who allegedly had a “direct line” to Weiss accused Day of running the bureau like a “Hamas cell.”
An internal report cleared Day of reporting bias, but Weiss allegedly barely spoke to her. Critics say she was fired because she didn’t pass an “undefined purity test.” Staffers saw her exit as another “scalp” in Weiss’ effort to overhaul the network.
Media critics and analysts say the network’s political direction is contributing to Dokoupil’s Evening News “ratings disaster.” Some have labeled him “MAGA coded,” pointing to lenient interviews with the administration and praise of official events like the State of the Union. He’s considered strong at breaking news, but once called Marco Rubio “the ultimate Florida man.” Tom Bettag, a former CBS News producer, said staffers find Dokoupil “smart,” “hard-working,” and a “pleasure to work with.”
Because Dokoupil is seen as the face of the Weiss era, though, the sinking Nielsen numbers are widely viewed as a reflection of her leadership.
CBS News’ massive transformation is facing high-profile departures, internal controversies over editorial independence, and abysmal ratings. CBS Mornings also saw its lowest-rated April on record. And CBS News Radio has been shuttered for good.
What Comes Next
Whether Weiss can save CBS News remains highly uncertain. Her first months have been plagued with drama — which comes with steering a large ship in a different direction.
Some say the “crisis of confidence” could prove fatal as CBS and CNN are expected to share ownership following a mega deal in which the Ellisons’ Paramount Skydance took over Warner Bros. Discovery. The Ellisons feted Trump — who says CNN needs a new direction — at a private dinner that included his top aides, shortly before the deal was completed.
The question is whether, as Weiss’ detractors insist, her tenure is a “right-leaning ideological project” — or an opportunity to regain trust that many say mainstream media have lost.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
