The new era of the CBS Evening News will begin a few days earlier than originally planned, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Tony Dokoupil will anchor Saturday night’s edition of the evening newscast to cover the Trump administration’s shock raid on Venezuela, in which U.S. forces seized and arrested Nicolás Maduro, the president of the country.
Dokoupil had been slated to officially take over the program on Monday, Jan. 5 with a multi-city tour starting in San Francisco. Instead, he will make his official debut in the anchor chair on one of the most unexpected and newsworthy Saturdays in recent memory.
Dokoupil is not the only A-list anchor to return to work Saturday to cover the news. Rachel Maddow appeared on MS NOW to analyze the situation, while Bret Baier appeared on Fox News, where he revealed that he was in active talks to travel to Venezuela to interview Maduro. On CNN, Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett signed on to cover the news.
At NBC News, Tom Llamas is expected to anchor NBC Nightly News.
Dokoupil is seeking to put his own stamp on the evening news and to turn its ratings fortunes around. In a New Year’s Day video, he acknowledged that the public has lost trust in the media, and laid out his vision for running the program.
“So here’s my promise to you today and every time you see me in this chair: You come first,” he said. “Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you.”
The show subsequently laid out five core principles, including “we report on the world as it is,” “we respect you,” and “we love America,” in an effort to try and win back viewers who may have otherwise abandoned CBS News, or legacy TV news programs altogether.
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