The CBS Evening Debut of Tony Dokoupil Was Embarrassing in Ways I Didn't Know Possible

"Generally speaking, when presenting oneself as the vanguard for a radical new editorial direction-one that supposedly cuts through the ossified liberal bromides that have long dominated the nightly news-you do not want your debut broadcast to be reminiscent of an infamously botched campus newscast. Unfortunately, Tony Dokoupil, the newly installed anchor of CBS Evening News and the face of the company's nouveau regime-friendly rebrand, was not so lucky."

"As you can see from the video above, partway through one of his camera-facing monologues, a noticeably wooden Dokoupil became flummoxed during a transition from Venezuela to a report on Sen. Mark Kelly's besiegement by the Department of War. Due to some sort of slipup in the production room, Dokoupil thought he was instead pivoting to the embattled Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota."

"So when a slideshow of Kelly's hairless visage appeared on the screen, Dokoupil fell bracingly silent. What followed were 30 seconds of agony. He tried to kick the segment over to a reporter on the field, who did not answer the call. He pleaded, hilariously, to anyone in the studio who might be able to help: "Are we going to Kelly here?" Eventually, Dokoupil hastily caught up with the teleprompter midsentence, rattling off the many vindictive debasements that Pete Hegseth is wielding against Kelly."

Tony Dokoupil began his inaugural shift as CBS Evening News anchor and encountered a production mishap that disrupted a transition between segments. A production slip caused him to prepare for Gov. Tim Walz while the broadcast showed images of Sen. Mark Kelly, leaving Dokoupil visibly flummoxed and silent for about thirty seconds. He attempted to hand off to a field reporter who did not answer and aloud asked, "Are we going to Kelly here?" He then resumed reading the teleprompter, hurriedly covering criticisms from Pete Hegseth. The incident prompted criticism and raised questions about management and editorial direction during the network's rebrand.

Read at Slate Magazine