Tony Dokoupil flubs segment transition during CBS Evening News debut

According to People, Tony Dokoupil mixed up a segment transition during his first day as anchor of the CBS Evening News on Monday, Jan. 5. He attempted to introduce a story about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz while an image of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was on screen, and he acknowledged the error on air: "First day, first day, big problems here." Dokoupil asked those behind the scenes whether they were "going to Kelly" or "Jonah Kaplan," paused for roughly five seconds as a slideshow of Kelly appeared, then began the Kelly report.

He later called Minnesota the "Great Lakes state," a nickname for Michigan. The network announced his shift change on Dec. 10 after the exits of Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson; he is the sixth anchor of the broadcast in the last decade. He described the job change as "exciting" and "a little bit terrifying," and said he does not work for "the advertiser, a politician or the new corporate owners of CBS," but for the "viewer." His new role comes amid changes at CBS News, including Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount, a settlement of a lawsuit with President Donald Trump, and the October appointment of Bari Weiss as editor in chief, who pulled a 60 Minutes segment.

Dokoupil began his time at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and is expected to anchor from Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 6, as part of a "Live from America" tour that will include Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Key Topics

Culture, Tony Dokoupil, Cbs Evening News, Cbs News, Mark Kelly, Tim Walz