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<\/a><\/p>\nCBS Mornings co-anchor Tony Dokoupil (r) challenges author Ta-Nehisi Coates about Israel in a controversial on-air interview, September 30, 2024. On December 10, 2025, Dokoupil was named the new CBS News evenings anchor. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The move came amid a rash of prominent vacancies at the venerable network since new Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, who is also Jewish and pro-Israel, appointed Weiss top editor earlier this year. <\/p>\n
The elevation of Dokoupil is notable in the aftermath of his debate with bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates about Israel in a viral interview last fall that was rebuked by CBS top brass at the time, prior to Ellison\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in a time in which many people have lost trust in the media. Tony Dokoupil is the person to win it back,\u201d Weiss said in a statement announcing the move. \u201cThat\u2019s because 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The release touts Dokoupil\u2019s CBS experience with particular emphasis on his Israel coverage, noting that he \u201creported from Israel on the Oct. 7 terror attack and hostage release deal\u201d and has interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dokoupil is a convert to Judaism and is married to Jewish MS NOW anchor Katy Tur.<\/p>\n
Interviewing Coates about his pro-Palestinian essay book \u201cThe Message\u201d in September 2024, Dokoupil accused him of writing passages that \u201cwould not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist\u201d and asked him whether he objected to \u201cthe existence of a Jewish state that is a Jewish safe place.\u201d He concluded the interview by jokingly inviting Coates to High Holiday services.<\/p>\n
In the fallout from the Coates interview, Dokoupil faced internal pushback from some CBS News staff who felt his questions betrayed a pro-Israel bias. He also faced a disciplinary meeting with executives who cautioned him about the tone and body language he displayed during the interview. <\/p>\n
Leaked records of those meetings were published by The Free Press, Weiss\u2019s outlet, months prior to Paramount\u2019s $150 million acquisition of her business. The Coates interview continued to be a sticking point prior to CBS\u2019s ownership transition to the Ellisons, as Paramount\u2019s former chair Shari Redstone \u2014 also Jewish and avowedly pro-Israel \u2014 reportedly supported Dokoupil and heightened her own scrutiny of CBS News\u2019 Israel coverage as a result.<\/p>\n