TUNING OUT

MAGA-Coded CBS Anchor Hit With ‘Trainwreck’ Ratings Downfall

Tony Dokoupil’s show is now regularly slipping under 4 million views.

CBS Evening News’ MAGA-coded anchor Tony Dokoupil is recording dire ratings as audiences desert the Trump-friendly network.

Nielsen ratings, obtained by Status, show that the week beginning April 20 was the lowest-rated stretch of viewership since Dokoupil was promoted to the evening news slot by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss in January.

CBS Evening News is now averaging just 3.7 million viewers, with the 4-million mark previously considered a low enough level to set off alarm bells for the network. In the all-important 25–54 demographic prized by advertisers, the show averaged just 467,000 viewers.

Veteran television news executives have raised concerns about how bad things could get for CBS News and its once-prestigious Evening News broadcast, and are placing the blame on Weiss’ leadership. “This isn’t what a turnaround looks like. This is what a train wreck looks like,” one executive told Status.

Whereas 4 million viewers was once considered the bare minimum for Evening News, the program has now recorded three consecutive weeks below that mark under Dokoupil’s tenure.

Overall, this month ranks as the second-lowest-rated April for CBS Evening News this century, and the lowest ever in the key 25–54 demographic.

Despite Weiss’ attempt to attract a younger audience, Dokoupil’s show has recorded 12 straight weeks with fewer than 600,000 viewers in the 25–54 age range.

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One veteran television news executive said they were stunned that Weiss’ network is struggling to attract viewers during President Donald Trump providing a constant news blitz, suggesting audiences are put off by her “brand of faux centrism.”

“Her decisions have turned off even more of their shrinking audience,” the executive added. “These declines are part of a larger and deeper crisis at CBS News.”

A second veteran executive said there is enough evidence to suggest Weiss’ “first major move as a television executive did not work,” while a third described the situation at the network as “a sinking ship.”

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CBS News has already carried out mass layoffs and seen the departure of its star anchor Anderson Cooper since Weiss was parachuted into the editor-in-chief role by David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance and son of Trump donor Larry Ellison.

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Experts have expressed fears about the future of CBS News, as a dwindling audience is likely to hit its bottom line and advertising revenue.

“It’s clear they have no idea what they are doing—and one has to wonder what will be left of CBS News once the merger goes through and the Ellisons are done having to placate Trump,” the third executive told Status.

A spokesperson for CBS News told the Daily Beast that ratings for CBS Evening News are up 2 percent in April 2026 compared to April 2025, and that it is “not fair” to blame the current numbers on Dokoupil and Weiss’ performance.

“Tony Dokoupil is an exceptional talent and experienced journalist who continues to build a program designed to reach audiences wherever they consume the news,” the spokesperson added.

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