January 9, 2026
CBS Evening News loses over 1 million viewers in first week under Bari Weiss
CBS loses 23% of viewers as Weiss pivots network toward Trump-favoring content
📰Media Literacy🏛️Government💰Economy
CBS Evening News lost over 1 million viewers in its first week under new anchor Tony Dokoupil, dropping from an average of 5.4 million viewers each day (Jan. 5-9, 2025) to only 4.17 million viewers (Jan. 5-9, 2026), a 23% decline according to Nielsen data reported by Variety
Viewership in the key 25-54 demographic that advertisers target fell from 690,000 to 533,000, a nearly 25% drop
Other anchors' debuts for the program typically got 5 million viewers or more John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois averaged 4.91 million viewers in their debut week in Jan. 2025.
Trump-allied billionaire David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison bought CBS parent company Paramount in 2025
David Ellison installed far-right provocateur Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief in Oct. 2025 despite her having no experience managing a major news organization
Weiss previously ran a Substack newsletter called The Free Press and had a controversial tenure at The New York Times opinion section Her inner circle of advisors reportedly includes Sasha Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld's 25-year-old daughter with no journalism experience.
Weiss killed a 60 Minutes segment in Dec. 2025 that was scheduled to show brutal conditions within CECOT prison in El Salvador, where the Trump administration disappeared hundreds of immigrants
The segment, reported by veteran correspondent Anderson Cooper, was carefully vetted by CBS lawyers and standards and practices personnel
Weiss critiqued it for lack of balance and context, demanding high-level administration officials be contacted even though the administration had already been approached and declined to provide response She couldn't dispute any specific factual assertions in the piece.
In a note to CBS Evening News producers obtained by The New York Times, Weiss said she wanted the network to be the news rather than report it
She told producers Let's make sure every single night has something with viral potential
The goal for this road show is not to deliver the news so much as it is to drive the news This represents a fundamental departure from CBS News's traditional investigative journalism mission under Walter Cronkite's legacy.
Tony Dokoupil's first week featured numerous right-wing guest interviewees and billionaires, with analysts noting his tonal shift favoring right-wing figures in the Trump orbit
His debut on Jan. 5 included stumbling over the teleprompter and introducing himself twice within 80 seconds
His Tuesday program featured a 13-minute interview with Trump at a Ford factory that was drowned out by machinery noise At the end, Dokoupil made a forced appeal saying You may not agree with everything you hear on this broadcast, but we trust you to listen, and we trust you to decide for yourself.
Weiss also killed a 60 Minutes segment from Anderson Cooper about Trump's exclusive asylum welcome for Afrikaner refugees
Just days after the El Salvador segment was killed, Weiss approved a thin, anonymous story about an ICE agent's alleged internal bleeding that hadn't been fact-checked to the same standard
The Free Press, the website owned by Paramount-Skydance that Weiss also controls, ran a rant from Weiss's wife defending the decision to drop the El Salvador piece These editorial decisions show Weiss prioritizing pro-Trump narratives over investigative journalism.
CBS News has faced massive internal revolt since Weiss took over
The numerous public leaks about the 60 Minutes interference show CBS News staff's lack of respect for her leadership and management style
Many people were fired at CBS News before Weiss arrived and morale was already low Weiss has made it worse but can't fire everyone, creating a real dilemma CBS News is a much larger organization than anything she's ever managed While Weiss puts guests like Erika Kirk on CBS airwaves to disastrous ratings, NBC Nightly News under Tom Llamas has been rising in ratings.
The ratings collapse matters because CBS Evening News competed with ABC News and NBC News for mainstream audiences—not Fox News, Newsmax, or right-wing podcasters
Weiss appears to misunderstand her competition and treat CBS like a minor league outlet
Trust in TV news has collapsed to an all-time low of 28% according to Gallup, down from 72% in 1976 and 40% in 2020 Weiss's pro-Trump pivot is accelerating audience flight to NBC and ABC while failing to attract Fox News viewers who already distrust CBS.
📰Media Literacy🏛️Government💰Economy
People, bills, and sources
Bari Weiss
CBS News Editor-in-Chief
Tony Dokoupil
CBS Evening News Anchor
David Ellison
Owner of CBS/Paramount, CEO of Skydance Media
Anderson Cooper
60 Minutes Correspondent
John Dickerson
Former CBS Evening News Co-Anchor
Maurice DuBois
Former CBS Evening News Co-Anchor
Sasha Seinfeld
Advisor to Bari Weiss
What you can do
1
civic action
Contact Paramount Global to demand journalistic standards restoration at CBS News
CBS Evening News lost over 1 million viewers in the first week of 2026 under new anchor Tony Dokoupil and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, dropping from 5.4 million to 4.166 million total viewers. The 23% viewership decline reflects audience rejection of Weiss's right-leaning overhaul that abandoned traditional journalism standards. Weiss, hired by MAGA-friendly David Ellis to bring an anti-woke approach, told staff to be the news rather than report it and unveiled a strategy leaning into conservative podcasters. The ratings collapse shows viewers want credible journalism, not partisan propaganda.
Hello, I am [NAME] from [CITY/STATE]. I am calling to demand that Paramount Global restore journalistic standards at CBS News. Key points: CBS Evening News lost over 1 million viewers in first week of 2026, dropping from 5.4 million to 4.166 million. This represents a 23% viewership decline under Bari Weiss's editorial leadership. Weiss was hired to bring anti-woke approach but abandoned journalism standards. Viewership continued dropping into February 2026, showing audience rejection of partisan content. Questions to ask: Will Paramount hold Weiss accountable for ratings collapse? When will company restore traditional journalism standards? How does abandoning investigative journalism serve shareholders and viewers? Specific request: I want Paramount to remove Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief and restore CBS News's commitment to credible journalism rather than partisan content. Thank you for your time.
2
civic action
File FCC complaint about CBS News broadcast standards
Submit FCC complaint arguing CBS Evening News is failing to serve the public interest by abandoning journalism for partisan propaganda under Weiss.
Subject: FCC Complaint - CBS News Abandonment of Broadcast Standards
Dear Federal Communications Commission,
I am filing a complaint regarding CBS News's abandonment of broadcast journalism standards under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
Key concerns:
- CBS Evening News lost 23% of viewers (over 1M) in first week under new editorial direction
- Weiss killed 60 Minutes segments on Trump administration human rights violations to favor administration
- Weiss told producers to be the news and drive the news with viral potential rather than report facts
- CBS is failing to serve the public interest by prioritizing partisan propaganda over investigative journalism
Specific violations:
- Censorship of fact-checked investigative journalism (60 Minutes El Salvador prison segment)
- Editorial favoritism toward Trump administration at expense of public accountability
- Transformation of news broadcast into vehicle for pro-administration content
Request for FCC action:
- Investigate whether CBS is meeting public interest broadcasting standards
- Review CBS News editorial policies under current ownership
- Assess whether license renewal conditions are being met
I request a full FCC investigation into CBS News's editorial practices.
Thank you.
3
civic action
Support NBC Nightly News as alternative to CBS
Switch to NBC Nightly News under Tom Llamas, which has maintained traditional journalism standards and seen rising ratings while CBS collapses.
This action involves viewer choice rather than direct contact.
Why this matters:
- NBC Nightly News has maintained traditional journalism standards
- Ratings have risen under Tom Llamas while CBS collapses
- Viewer choices directly impact which editorial approaches succeed
How to take action:
- Watch NBC Nightly News instead of CBS Evening News
- Share NBC investigative journalism on social media
- Tell others about the quality difference
Impact: Networks respond to ratings. By choosing NBC over CBS, you're voting with your viewership for real journalism over propaganda.