Dickerson chokes up as CBS Evening News signs off with DuBois amid network shakeup

John Dickerson choked up during the farewell to Maurice DuBois on Thursday’s CBS Evening News, the anchors’ final joint sign-off as CBS News undertakes a leadership shakeup. DuBois’s last broadcast aired Thursday; Dickerson’s will air Friday. Substitutes will host the nightly newscast until Tony Dokoupil, the former CBS Mornings co-host, takes over as full-time anchor on Jan. 5. DuBois and Dickerson replaced Norah O’Donnell last January after she moved to lead the network’s evening newscast, a change that began a broader reshuffle in CBS News management.

During the sign-off, the two thanked their team and reflected on a year together under challenging ratings. DuBois told viewers, “I cannot thank this team enough. I’ve walked out of here each night extremely proud of the work we’ve done together.” Turning to Dickerson, he added, “John, you’re an outstanding journalist, an even better person. I’ve learned quite a bit from working with you. Proud to call you not just a colleague, but a friend.” Dickerson, visibly moved, replied: “Thank you, Maurice. You know, a year and a half ago we didn’t even really know each other. And you’ve become a model for me and a trusted friend.” The pair closed with: “Thank you for watching. Good night and good luck,” echoing Edward R. Murrow’s famed sign-off.

CBS has been pursuing an overhaul of the Evening News under Bari Weiss, who joined CBS News as editor in chief in October, and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski. The network has sought to reset a program that lagged in the ratings behind NBC and ABC, and critics had pointed to a chemistry gap between the anchors and a format that favored feature pieces over breaking news. In recent months, CBS said it was changing the show’s approach as part of a broader strategic shift across CBS News. The New York Post has reported that executives debated whether to bring in outside talent, but ultimately settled on Dokoupil, the internal favorite, to lead the program.

DuBois, who has been at CBS for 21 years, most of his career spent at WCBS in New York, and Dickerson, who has spent 16 years at CBS News in various roles, have been central figures in the network’s attempt to reposition its flagship newscast. The leadership changes come as CBS News seeks to reverse a years-long slide in viewership and to compete more effectively with NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight.

Dokoupil’s arrival as the full-time Evening News anchor is scheduled for Jan. 5, with substitute anchors filling the desk in the interim. The decision underscores CBS’s push to revitalize the program as part of Bari Weiss’s broader strategy to reshape CBS News’s daytime and evening offerings.

The Post reported that, while outside candidates had been considered, Weiss and Cibrowski ultimately backed Dokoupil, an insider favored for the role, as part of the plan to refresh the program. The widely watched corporate shakeup at CBS News is part of a larger effort to modernize the network’s news presentation while aiming to improve ratings in a competitive media landscape.

As CBS implements its changes, executives stress that Dokoupil will carry the Evening News forward with a new cadence and format designed to better integrate breaking news with deeper storytelling. The transition follows a year in which the broadcast’s ratings trended lower than its NBC and ABC counterparts, intensifying the network’s push to realign on-air talent and production approaches.

The shakeup is also a signal of CBS’s willingness to reimagine its flagship broadcast under Weiss’s leadership, with a focus on consistency, newsroom collaboration, and audience appeal. While the coming months will determine how the new team lands with viewers, Thursday evening’s farewell underscored the personal connections that anchor audiences in a program that has long defined network television news.