It’s Washington’s Mardi Gras, and this evening VF will get in on the celebrations surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with a party of its own at the Belgian ambassador’s residence. This weekend is by the press, for the press, and it’s as good a time as any to take stock of the various institutions of American journalism.
Aidan McLaughlin did just that this week with a sweeping look at the CBS Evening News under new-ish anchor Tony Dokoupil and editor in chief Bari Weiss. Our Washington correspondent spoke with 20 current and former CBS News staffers to paint a colorful behind-the-scenes tableau. There were the disastrous on-air mistakes over the first few weeks, such as Dokoupil’s opening night teleprompter nightmare (which is properly explained for the first time in this story). There’s the incessant coziness with the Trump administration, which has disturbed veteran journalists at the network. And there are the assessments of Dokoupil himself.
“He’s deeply lacking in self-awareness,” offers one insider. “Tony has the biggest case of imposter syndrome out of any anchor or correspondent I’ve ever worked with,” says another. The news division’s new star is also branded “a useful idiot.”
Along the way, Aidan concluded that the “hospital-drama-handsome” former morning show host is now the face of the Weiss revolution at CBS News—with everything that entails.
Plus: Tara Palmeri takes stock of Grindr’s Washington ambitions ahead of the dating app’s own WHCD weekend party this evening. |
JACK HOLMES,
SENIOR EDITOR |
“He must have been her seventh or eighth choice, because nobody would take the fucking job,” one correspondent says. “I mean, she wanted Bret Baier. She wanted Anderson Cooper. She wanted a name, and she does not see Tony Dokoupil as a name. A useful idiot for sure, but not a name.” |
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