CBS News executives have been trying to revive the ratings of the perennially third-place “Evening News,” but its latest iteration is facing mockery after various hiccups and a clumsily executed on-air “salute” to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that reportedly enraged the reliably liberal editorial staff. 

Last year, CBS revamped the “Evening News,” replacing host Norah O’Donnell with an unusual dual-anchor format, featuring John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois. The network also tinkered with the program’s model and focused more on evergreen stories instead of breaking news. When that version of the “Evening News” launched, it drew in 5.2 million total viewers, but within a month, its audience had shrunk to 4.5 million viewers. In Nielsen’s latest weekly ratings data, which was likely affected by the holiday season, the “Evening News” drew in 3.8 million viewers. By contrast, NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.2 million viewers, and ABC’s “World News Tonight” had 7.5 million viewers.

When Skydance Media acquired CBS News, it was expected that the new management planned to once again try to revamp the “Evening News.” The network’s editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, elevated a morning show co-host, Tony Dokoupil, to be the anchor of the evening news program.

On Monday, the new revamp of “CBS Evening News” officially launched, following a campaign by the network promising accountability and news that focused more on the perspectives of “the average American” and less on the perspectives of “advocates” or “academics.”

However, the revamp, while it is still in its infancy, has been ridiculed for problems — in its technical execution and writing — that have obscured its efforts to be fairer and more reflective of its audience than other television news programming.

On Monday, Mr. Dokoupil tried to tee up a segment about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s decision to end his bid for a third term. 

“As you just heard from Jill, well, to other news now. Uh, to Governor Walz,” Mr. Dokoupil said as a picture of Senator Mark Kelly was shown on screen.

The host said, “No, we’re gonna do Mark Kelly. First day, first day, big problems here. Uh, are we going to Kelly here or are we gonna go to Jonah Kaplan?”

“We’re doing Mark Kelly. Possibly demoted from his rank of captain in the Navy. Hegseth issued what’s known as a letter of censure for the Arizona Democrat over his participation in the video, they called on service members to defy illegal orders without specifying which orders he had in mind,” he added. 

“This is embarrassing,”  liberal commentator and former NBC Universal executive, Mike Sington, wrote on X, “Newly installed CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil has major problems during his first regular broadcast. The inexperience of new CBS News chief Bari Weiss is on full display.”

Tuesday’s broadcast did little to quell the criticism. Mr. Dokoupil was criticized for his coverage of the fifth anniversary of the January 6 riot at the Capitol. 

“President Trump today accused Democrats of failing to prevent the attack on the Capitol, while House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the president of ‘whitewashing’ it,” Mr. Dokoupil said.

The White House correspondent for HuffPost, S.V. Date, wrote on X, “Another absolute disgrace.  How in hell does anyone ‘both sides’ Jan 6?  A hundred and forty cops were beaten by the mob Trump sent to the Capitol. One died hours later. Four others died by suicide in the weeks to follow. Shameful.”

The director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Larry Sabato, wrote, “SHAMEFUL! My family watched CBS & Cronkite from 1963 on. No more. Sadly, ‘That’s the way it is, January 6th, 2026.’”

A former Politico journalist, Carla Marinucci, responded, “I’m with you. #BoycottCBS.”

During the closing segment of the program, Mr. Dokoupil focused on Mr. Rubio’s influence in the Trump Administration. 

“He’s now the face of U.S. foreign policy and President Trump’s point man on Venezuela, all in addition to his roles as secretary of state, interim national security advisor, and acting national archivist, and USAID chief. Whatever you think of his politics, you’ve got to admit, it’s an impressive resume,” Mr. Dokoupil said. 

He noted the trend of X users posting AI-generated memes of Mr. Rubio that cast him in a variety of positions, such as the governor of Minnesota or the manager of Manchester United. 

“These memes may not add up to much, but for Rubio’s hometown fans, which are many around here in Miami, it is a sign of how Florida, once an American punchline, has become a leader on the world stage,” Mr. Dokoupil said. “Marco Rubio, we salute you. You’re the ultimate Florida man. And that’s another day in America and in Miami.”

The rapid response account for the White House shared the clip and wrote, “WE LOVE @SecRubio!”

A co-host of Pod Save America, Dan Pfeiffer, wrote on X, “I had very low expectations for a Bari Weiss-led CBS News, but this is exponentially worse than I imagined. Every broadcast is a naked appeal for support from the White House for Paramount’s bid for Warner Brothers/Discovery.”

“I think North Korean TV would be too restrained to run state hagiography of this kind — just a bit too brazen — but between Larry Ellison and his boy who need to please Trump to let them buy Warner Bros,” left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote.

A left-wing journalist, Oliver Darcy, wrote in his “Status” newsletter that CBS News staffers are “overwhelmingly depressed at the state of affairs in their newsroom.”

“Several staffers told me that they could forgive one or two of Dokoupil’s transgressions as early hiccups. But, taken together, it’s hard to ignore that they offer a window into where CBS News is heading under David Ellison’s ownership,” Mr. Darcy said. “A place in which CBS News is led by unserious people who are hellbent on taking it into far friendlier waters for the Trump administration.

One staffer told Mr. Darcy it is “no surprise” that there have been “hiccups” since the show’s executive producer, Mr. Dokoupil, and Ms. Weiss are all “green” in their new roles.  

Staffers are also reportedly frustrated that Mr. Dokoupil has been using a private jet, owned by Paramount, to transport the “Evening News” crew around the country during his 10 city tour. Mr. Darcy noted that it would be an “operational headache” to have the crew check camera equipment on commercial airlines every night and hope that it did not get lost. It is also very difficult if not impossible to do shows from different cities on consecutive evenings while relying on commercial airliners. 

However, network staffers are displeased with Mr. Dokoupil “crisscrossing the country in such comfort, even as he lectures viewers about ‘elites’ and posts social media videos of himself ditching his suit jacket to appear more relatable,” Mr. Darcy wrote. 

As for the various hiccups in the early days, one staffer told Mr. Darcy that the revamp has been a “total sh— show.”

“They’re big on issuing manifestos and value statements, but they can’t even put together a clean newscast,” the staffer said. 

While liberal commentators are aghast at the new “Evening News,” conservatives are celebrating it. The managing editor of NewsBusters, Curtis Houck, wrote on X that the “Evening News”  produced “straight, informative” reporting on the situation in Venezuela.

He also praised Mr. Dokoupil for reporting on the death of conservative commentator and son of President Reagan, Michael Reagan, as he said CBS News was the only broadcast network to report the news on Tuesday evening. 

CBS News did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.