The CBS News division has been under constant upheaval since Paramount Global merged with Skydance Media in August. The new editor in chief was reportedly cleaning house and bringing in new anchors. Days after a second CBS Evening News anchor quit, the network announced who would take over anchoring the show.
CBS Evening News Anchors Quit Amid Merger
The CBS Evening News was revamped in January 2025 when Maurice DuBois joined John Dickerson as co-anchor. The news program left Washington, D.C. at that time and returned to its New York City studio. But bigger changes were in store for CBS.
The network’s parent company, Paramount Global, merged with Skydance Media in August to form Paramount Skydance. One of the first orders of business after the merger was cutting costs. That meant thousands of layoffs and a reshuffling of news anchors to lower costs. Variety reported in October that CBS doesn’t plan to renew Gayle King’s contract when it expires in May.
Gayle King’s future with the network is still in doubt, but the two CBS Evening News anchors quit weeks apart. John Dickerson announced in late October that he was leaving at the end of the year. Maurice DuBois followed with an announcement of his own earlier this month. His last day on the network is December 18.
New Anchor Announced, Familiar Face
When Maurice DuBois quit, CBS reportedly hadn’t officially signed a replacement for the two exiting anchors. But the network confirmed on December 10, 2025, that they had a new anchor and it’s a familiar face for CBS viewers.
As we previously reported, the network was looking to promote Tony Dokoupil from CBS Mornings to the sole anchor of CBS Evening News. Bari Weiss, who took over as editor-in-chief of CBS News after the merger, confirmed the promotion.
“We live in a time in which many people have lost trust in the media. Tony Dokoupil is the person to win it back,” she said in a statement.
“He believes in old-school journalistic values: asking the hard questions, following the facts wherever they lead and holding power to account. Americans hungry for fairness will see that on display night after night,” the statement continued.
Tony Dokoupil takes over the CBS Evening News on Monday, January 5. According to Deadline, the network is sending the anchor on a cross-country tour during his first month on the job.
The news of the exciting anchor change came a day after CBS announced that they had poached Matt Gutman as a correspondent for the news division, including with 48 Hours. Tell us your thoughts on the anchor changes at CBS.
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