CBS is facing a serious crisis months after right-wing influencer Bari Weiss took over the network, and its CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil is at the center of it thanks to a slip-up that used Ye aka Kanye West in place of Diddy for a news story.
According to reports, the mix-up took place last Friday (July 3) when the program “mistakenly aired an image of rapper Kanye West instead of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in its report that President [Donald] Trump was mulling a pardon of Combs,” and that while “he error was quietly fixed in the ‘Evening News’ West Coast broadcast and for digital and streaming,” it highlighted the staffing issues under Weiss.
Another example occurred during the network’s Fourth of July coverage with Dokoupil, as they were trying to cover the Great American State Fair celebrations in Washington, D.C. which would be disrupted by severe thunderstorms. Nischelle Turner of Entertainment Tonight was also on hand to host coverage, according to the New York Post.
“More than 100 staffers were pulled in to air July 4 broadcasts, which would include performances from the Zac Brown Band, Vanilla Ice, Jon Batiste and the Goo Goo Dolls – with Dokoupil anchoring live from the Washington Monument,” the report said, but that was put on hold as President Trump called for an evacuation of the National Mall.
“Dokoupil and Turner were holed up nearby as the storm swept through,” the report continued, eventually joining other correspondents covering the events from location in New York City and in-studio from Washington, D.C.
The mishap, which was denied by representatives at CBS, is another example of the turbulence at the once-storied network since Weiss tookover and Dokoupil became the new anchor this January. Sources cite a lack of leadership, calling the program “a rudderless ship” despite News President Tom Cibrowski and producer Kim Harvey’s presence.
