Tony Dokoupil Tells Viewers ‘Don’t Trust Me, Make Me Earn It’ Ahead of New CBS Role

Incoming CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil told viewers to make him “earn” their trust in a statement, just days before his new gig kicks off.

Dokoupil wrote a Thursday op-ed in which he discussed his new role (beginning on January 5) and his own issues with the media, declaring, “Don’t trust me. Make me earn it.”

“A lot has changed since the first person sat in the Evening News chair. For me, the biggest difference is this: people don’t trust us like they used to,” he wrote.

Dokoupil noted stories over the years that people have brought up to him, from the Iraq War to Covid and more. He wrote that he agrees with critics who believe the media has not always reported reality.

“The point is that on too many stories the press missed the story. Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you,” he wrote.

Dokoupil’s new gig was announced last month after Bari Weiss took over as editor-in-chief for CBS News.

Dokoupil assured viewers that no one, including Weiss, will be influencing his reporting.

“So here’s my promise to you as long as I sit in this chair: you come first. Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you,” he wrote. “Which means I tell you what I know, when I know it and how I know it. And when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that too.”

Dokoupil told viewers to hold him accountable for telling the “truth” in his new role.

“I love talking to people about what works in this country, what doesn’t, and not only what should change, but the good ideas that never should,” he wrote. “I think telling the truth is one of them. Hold me to it.”