Is CBS News Boss Set to Be Fired Over Ratings Disaster?
What To Know
- CBS Evening News has seen its viewership drop below 4 million, prompting speculation that the show’s executive producer could be fired.
- Recent changes, including appointing Tony Dokoupil as anchor, have not stopped a decline of over half a million viewers.
- CBS maintains that recent changes are unrelated to ratings or staff shakeups.
As CBS Evening News dips under 4 million viewers, the show’s executive producer could be on the chopping block.
According to the New York Post, network insiders have claimed that Kim Harvey, who has been at the helm of CBS Evening News since August 2025, could be given her marching orders unless she can turn the show’s viewing figures around in the coming weeks.
In December, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss appointed former CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil as the new Evening News anchor, replacing John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. Dokoupil made his official debut on the evening broadcast on January 5, drawing 4.4 million viewers.
The Dokoupil-led show reached a ratings high of 4.6 million in late January, but since then, the numbers have continued to decline. For the week of March 9, CBS Evening News averaged 3.8 million viewers, per Nielsen numbers, the first time since Dokoupil took over that the show dropped below 4 million.
“It’s pretty terrible. Once you’re under 4 million, you’ve got to be worried that you’re in a death spiral,” an alleged CBS insider told the Post. “If they can’t retain an audience in the middle of a war, God help you when the war ends.”
Another said Harvey’s approach is “too soft,” referring to the show’s habit of ending with cute animal segments. “It’s animal story overload,” the source told the outlet. “Kim’s thing is animals. She’s turning Tony into the animal anchor.”
“The show has lost over a half a million viewers in three months,” said another, suggesting Harvey’s position could be in trouble. “You’ve got to sacrifice somebody to the ratings gods.”
Last October, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison appointed The Free Press co-founder Weiss as CBS News’ editor-in-chief. Since then, Weiss has been putting her stamp on the network, with some critics accusing her of taking the news organization in a more MAGA-friendly direction.
The changes have continued this week, as the Evening News has shifted to a new camera angle, showing Dokoupil in front of a world map rather than the close-up shot in front of the newsroom.
A CBS spokesperson told the Post that these changes have nothing to do with ratings or staff changes, saying, “It is ludicrous to suggest that a show’s executive producer could be replaced because we changed a camera angle.”
“We’re excited about the new version of the CBS Evening News, and thrilled that our viewers are, too,” the spokesperson added, noting that Dokoupil has averaged higher viewing figures than the show did for the last 10 weeks of 2025.
CBS Evening News, Weekdays, 6:30/5:30c, CBS
Conversation15 Comments
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I
The ratings drop is not the fault of the producer, Kim Harvey. It is because of all of the changes that Bari Weiss has made to the network and its news shows. If anyone should be fired, it should be her.
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W
Ditto to this 10 fold. Bari Weiss has cost the trust that won't be back until she's gone and CBS will have to work way harder than ever to even have hopes of trying to get viewers back... and this goes beyond the news. Weiss' reach has caused CBS to quickly turn into an almost Fox cloned network, filtering and restricting freedom of the press. We have all but stopped watching most any of the CBS programs.
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B
Not sure about the market for "Fox Light".
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G
I really hope they kick this useless sorry excuse for a human being to the curb. She has done nothing nothing but help to destroy a once great institution
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G
Well, WHAT did they think would happen? David Ellison and Bari Weiss are anti-American cowards. Bari is the one that SHOULD be fired. David should go play in rush hour traffic.
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D
Fire Weiss. Every change she has made has created lower ratings!
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M
Tanking stories because you didn't get response from a group (ie, White House) or doing puff pieces on cabinet officials shows that their brand of news is not reliable or nor trustworthy anymore. Murrow would be walking out the door too. Sad but CBS News is now owned by a private company (Skydance/Ellison's) now and they can burn it down if they want. They own it.
Viewers can choose not to watch and they doing just that.
It is a sad state of affairs when viewpoint news is all that matters not facts.
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H
Leave Colbert on! We all know the real reason his show has been cancelled. Maybe the new person will do better and Renew Colbert!
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P
I'm thinking Bari Weiss is the one that needs to go.
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P
LOL. I didn't even read the other comments before posting mine. Now that I've read them, I'm not surprised the consensus is to get rid of Weiss. That should tell David Ellison something.
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M
The Trump admin has destroyed network television. It is not coming back. There are too many legitimate news sources these days. Not even Walter Cronkite could improve their ratings.
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D
I have always loved CBS Morning Show and the Evening News with Tony Dokoupil. But since his boss is now so concerned over what Trump has gotten involved in what CBS Evening News can say or not say I have switched to Channel 5 Evening News. I no longer watch either. I prefer CBS but until that Bari Weiss is removed we will no longer watch Tony. Ratings must not mean that much to her or CBS. He was NEVER afraid to ask the hard questions from Trump's circus. CBS watchers and fans deserve better than her. Every time her name comes up people respond negatively. Please remove her and let us watch Tony ask the hard questions your station is afraid to ask Trump. Who's the head honcho at CBS working ford anyway. Colbert was also great.
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F
See.B.S.
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N
New format it crap. Used to be CBS news and 60 minutes watcher. No more NBC is what I watch now
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G
Ironic how this article says some are accusing Bari Weiss of taking CBS toward MAGA. This is a subtle admission that CBS has been anti- MAGA and run of the mill conservative Americans as long as i remember. When the talking heads and "reporters" all espouse deeply leftist personal views, it comes out on the air: bias in story choice, failure to tell the other half of the story, comments. Some of us can't watch this Democrat propaganda, anymore. Some of us quit watching 15 years ago. No, I don't think CBS, CNN, NBC, ABC, New York Times, Washington Post and many others will ever be trusted by 50% of Boomers, nor any under 35.
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